Is it bad to eat too much garlic?

Garlic is a well-known natural food and remedy with useful properties in the prevention and complementary treatment of cardiovascular diseases, It regulates blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. It also fluidizes the blood and is an antioxidant.

The properties of garlic can be explained by its prebiotic fiber content, in sulfur compounds such as alliin (which is transformed into allicin), diallyl disulfide, ajoene, s-allylcysteine, etc.) and in essential oils.

Eat raw garlic regularly

Many people like to cook with garlic, however, cooked garlic has lost some of its properties. Therefore, people who want to use garlic therapeutically or preventatively can turn to raw garlic or garlic powder pearls.

One way to preserve at least part of the properties when cooking it is crush it previously and wait 30 minutes before adding it to the cook. In this way, alliin and allinase are allowed to mix to give rise to allicin, which will then resist the heat.

Contraindications of garlic

Nowhere does it explain how much garlic is adequate to consume, but overdoses are always possible, even with the healthiest foods. In the case of garlic, it is worth taking care because its properties could make it contraindicated in some situations.

Garlic is often discouraged when people take anticoagulant medications because garlic can reduce its effect and promote bleeding in sick people.

It is also often recommended not to take garlic capsules or eat it during a few days before an operation, to prevent bleeding during the operation.

But in reality there are very few case reports evidencing these contraindications, even when taking medications.

How much garlic can be toxic?

In studies carried out with laboratory animals, it has been possible to determine that above 0.5 g of garlic per kilo of body weight can cause damage to the liver. A safe amount could be 0.25 g of garlic per kilo of weight. For a 70 kg person, the maximum amount would be 17.25 g or 6 garlic cloves.

Although studies speak of potential damage to the liver with an overdose of garlic, the truth is that moderate doses are beneficial for this organ. People who eat raw garlic twice a week or more, have a lower risk of liver cancer than those who eat raw garlic less often or never.

Garlic also reduces the risk of NAFLD. The risk of fatty liver is lowest when raw garlic is eaten 4 to 6 times per week. However, if garlic was eaten 7 times or more, the risk increases slightly again.

What you definitely shouldn’t do with garlic

What you should never do is swallow garlic cloves whole. Apparently this practice is recommended on some web sites to avoid garlic breath.

In addition to the fact that swallowing it whole does not prevent the smell of garlic, 17 cases of severe esophageal injuries by people who swallowed whole garlic cloves, in quantities of up to one whole garlic bulb at a time, without water. Almost all those affected had to be operated.

On the other hand, crushed garlic can irritate the skin if it comes in contact with it (some people apply it as a poultice on their chests to treat colds). In fact, if the contact is maintained for a long time, a “chemical burn” can be produced.

Scientific references:

Leyla Bayan et al. Garlic: a review of potential therapeutic effects. Avicenna J Phytomed. Johura Ansary et al. Potential Health Benefit of Garlic Based on Human Intervention Studies: A Brief Overview. Antioxidants.