I’ll be sincere, I imagine that recent meals are sometimes higher and more healthy than their processed, powdered varieties – and that features garlic. Brisker herbs and spices usually retain extra antioxidants and nutritional vitamins in comparison with dried variations.
So, what’s the cope with garlic powder? I exploit it sometimes, however I actually choose recent garlic, with its highly effective scent and scrumptious style when it’s added to meals.
Nothing beats recent garlic in my thoughts. BUT, garlic powder isn’t a nasty different in case you don’t have recent cloves available. Nevertheless, does it provide the identical advantages as recent garlic? I’ve determined to research.
Fast Reply
Is garlic powder good for you? Sure, garlic powder retains lots of the similar well being advantages as recent garlic. Whereas it might lose some vitamins throughout processing, it nonetheless gives coronary heart well being help, helps combat dangerous micro organism, reduces irritation, and boosts immune well being. Garlic powder is a handy, shelf-stable different to recent garlic that may be simply added to your weight loss plan to enhance digestion and total well being.
How Is Garlic Powder Truly Made?
So, how does garlic go from recent cloves to that high quality powder sitting in your spice rack? The method is fairly easy.
First, recent garlic cloves are peeled and sliced. Then, these slices are dehydrated at low temperatures to protect as a lot of the garlic’s flavour as potential.
As soon as the garlic is totally dried, it’s floor right into a high quality powder you could simply sprinkle over your favorite dishes.
What Occurs Throughout the Drying Course of?
The drying course of entails eradicating the moisture from the garlic cloves, which helps lengthen their shelf life. Whereas this course of is nice for comfort, it does result in some nutrient loss.
One of many first issues to go is Vitamin C, which is very delicate to warmth and light-weight. So, in case you’re utilizing garlic powder hoping to get a dose of Vitamin C, you’re out of luck.
Nevertheless, it’s not all unhealthy information. Though drying reduces allicin, the compound liable for lots of garlic’s well being advantages, there’s a neat trick: allicin can nonetheless type while you add water to garlic powder.
Garlic powder accommodates alliin, a compound that turns into allicin when uncovered to water, due to an enzyme known as alliinase. So, whereas garlic powder may not pack the identical rapid punch as recent garlic, you possibly can nonetheless get among the advantages in case you’re utilizing it in recipes that contain water or moisture.
On prime of that, garlic powder retains another necessary vitamins like Vitamin B6, calcium, and manganese, in addition to some sulfur compounds, that are liable for garlic’s attribute scent and a few of its well being advantages.
So, regardless that recent garlic continues to be the gold commonplace, garlic powder is way from nutritionally void—it simply brings its advantages in a distinct type.
What Are the Advantages of Garlic Powder?
Garlic powder gives a number of well being advantages past simply including flavour to your meals. Let’s discover a very powerful ones.
Garlic Powder Helps Coronary heart Well being
One of the well-known advantages of garlic, together with garlic powder, is its constructive impact on coronary heart well being. Research have proven that garlic powder might help cut back ldl cholesterol ranges, significantly LDL ldl cholesterol, which is the “unhealthy” sort that may result in plaque buildup in your arteries. Decreasing LDL ldl cholesterol can cut back the chance of coronary heart illness.
Garlic powder may additionally assist decrease blood strain. A meta-analysis of medical trials discovered that garlic powder considerably decreased each systolic (the highest quantity) and diastolic (the underside quantity) blood strain.
When you’re searching for a pure method to help your cardiovascular system, including garlic powder to your weight loss plan might be a straightforward step in the appropriate route.
Garlic Powder Fights Dangerous Micro organism
Garlic powder has sturdy antibacterial properties due to a compound known as allicin, which varieties when the powder is combined with water.
Allicin might help cease the expansion of dangerous micro organism like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a kind of micro organism that causes abdomen ulcers and different digestive points. This makes garlic powder useful for supporting intestine well being
However that’s not all. Garlic powder additionally fights micro organism that may trigger meals poisoning, like Salmonella and E. coli. These micro organism are frequent in contaminated meals, and garlic powder might help shield towards them.
Along with allicin, garlic powder accommodates different sulfur compounds that work collectively to cease micro organism from functioning correctly. So, including garlic powder to your meals isn’t nearly flavour—it may well additionally assist cut back the chance of foodborne diseases.
Garlic Powder Reduces Irritation
Garlic, together with its powdered type, has anti-inflammatory results, which might help cut back swelling and ache within the physique. Research present that garlic can decrease markers of irritation, like C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), that are linked to irritation. This makes garlic powder a helpful possibility for managing circumstances like arthritis.
One marker that garlic doesn’t appear to have an effect on as a lot is interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 is a protein that performs a key function within the immune system, selling irritation when the physique is preventing off infections or coping with damage. Whereas garlic powder doesn’t considerably cut back IL-6, it nonetheless helps decrease different necessary inflammatory markers.
Garlic Powder Helps Your Immune System
Garlic powder might help increase your immune system and will even have antiviral results. Whenever you combine garlic powder with water, it creates allicin, a compound that helps your physique combat off infections. Research present that allicin can cease viruses just like the flu, herpes, and even SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) from spreading within the physique.
Allicin works by blocking viruses from getting into cells and stopping them from multiplying. This makes garlic powder a helpful method to help your immune well being. Some analysis additionally means that garlic might help you get better quicker from colds and different viral infections.
Though we’d like extra research to totally perceive how effectively garlic powder works, the allicin it varieties means it may well provide among the similar immune-boosting and antiviral advantages as recent garlic.
Garlic Powder Accommodates Antioxidants
Garlic, together with its powdered type, accommodates antioxidants, which assist shield your cells from injury attributable to free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that may injury cells and contribute to growing older and illnesses like coronary heart illness and most cancers. The antioxidants in garlic powder might assist decelerate the growing older course of and cut back the chance of those persistent circumstances.
Whereas garlic powder might have barely fewer antioxidants than recent garlic, it nonetheless retains sufficient of those helpful compounds, reminiscent of allicin and different organosulfur compounds, to supply protecting results. These compounds assist neutralize free radicals and might help total well being.
Garlic Powder Helps Digestive Well being
Garlic is thought for its potential to help digestive well being by serving to to stability the intestine microbiome—the gathering of micro organism in your digestive system. Research present that garlic, together with its powdered type, accommodates compounds like allicin that may promote the expansion of helpful micro organism within the intestine whereas inhibiting dangerous micro organism, reminiscent of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which may trigger abdomen ulcers.
By serving to to take care of a wholesome stability of intestine micro organism, garlic powder might assist stop digestive points and help total intestine well being.
Is Garlic Powder as Good for You as Recent Garlic?
Recent garlic has greater ranges of allicin and Vitamin C, giving it a slight edge in efficiency. Nevertheless, garlic powder nonetheless gives lots of the similar well being advantages in a extra handy type.
Whereas it might not match recent garlic’s rapid results, garlic powder retains sufficient of its energetic compounds to make it a priceless, shelf-stable different for supporting coronary heart well being, digestion, and immunity.
What Concerning the Aspect Results?
Whereas garlic powder gives many well being advantages, it’s necessary to pay attention to potential negative effects. Some individuals might expertise abdomen points like heartburn, gasoline, or bloating when consuming garlic, together with garlic powder. These digestive points are extra probably in case you eat massive quantities of garlic powder or in case you have a delicate abdomen.
Moreover, garlic (each recent and powdered) might skinny the blood, so if you’re taking blood-thinning remedy, it is best to seek the advice of your physician earlier than rising your garlic consumption. Some individuals may additionally expertise allergic reactions to garlic, although that is uncommon.
Normally, garlic powder is secure when utilized in average quantities in cooking, however in case you discover any discomfort, it’s finest to regulate your consumption.
The Backside Line
Garlic powder might not have all of the vitamins of recent garlic, nevertheless it nonetheless gives lots of the similar advantages. It’s a handy manner so as to add heart-healthy, immune-boosting, and digestive-supporting compounds to your meals. Whether or not you’re utilizing it for flavour or well being, garlic powder is a superb choice to preserve in your kitchen when recent garlic isn’t accessible.
Extra Research:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2584604/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1286457999800033
