The Best Way To Eat Garlic

Garlic is a rich source of heart-protective compounds called thiosulfinates. When garlic is crushed, the thiosulfinates transforms into sulfides. These sulfur compounds are known to lower high blood pressure and protect the heart by unclogging platelets in the artery.

To reap the wonderful health benefits of eating garlic, the best way is to crush them then baked slightly. That’s according to the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and collaborators in Argentina.

The scientists wanted to know if cooking will reduce its blood-thinning effects and if crushing the garlic before cooking had any impact. After boiling, baking and microwaving both crushed and uncrushed cloves of garlic, the scientists found that when lightly cooked, crushed garlic provides most of the health benefits found in raw garlic.

The only exception was microwaving, which stripped garlic almost entirely of its blood-thinning effects.

While heating might be generally blamed for reducing garlic’s antiplatelet activity, the researchers believe that it’s the crushing that enables the beneficial compounds to be freed in the first place.

Source:”Garlic’s Goodness Best Released With a Crush” September 18 2007, US Department of Agriculture

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