I’ll be trustworthy, I consider that contemporary meals are sometimes higher and more healthy than their processed, powdered types – 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 often, however I actually want contemporary garlic, with its highly effective scent and scrumptious style when it’s added to meals.
Nothing beats contemporary garlic in my thoughts. BUT, garlic powder isn’t a nasty different should you don’t have contemporary cloves readily available. Nevertheless, does it supply the identical advantages as contemporary garlic? I’ve determined to analyze.
Fast Reply
Is garlic powder good for you? Sure, garlic powder retains most of the similar well being advantages as contemporary garlic. Whereas it might lose some vitamins throughout processing, it nonetheless presents coronary heart well being assist, helps combat dangerous micro organism, reduces irritation, and boosts immune well being. Garlic powder is a handy, shelf-stable different to contemporary garlic that may be simply added to your weight loss plan to enhance digestion and total well being.
How Is Garlic Powder Really Made?
So, how does garlic go from contemporary cloves to that tremendous powder sitting in your spice rack? The method is fairly simple.
First, contemporary 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 tremendous powder that you could simply sprinkle over your favorite dishes.
What Occurs Throughout the Drying Course of?
The drying course of includes eradicating the moisture from the garlic cloves, which helps prolong 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 extremely delicate to warmth and light-weight. So, should 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 answerable for lots of garlic’s well being advantages, there’s a neat trick: allicin can nonetheless type whenever you add water to garlic powder.
Garlic powder accommodates alliin, a compound that turns into allicin when uncovered to water, because of an enzyme known as alliinase. So, whereas garlic powder won’t pack the identical speedy punch as contemporary garlic, you’ll be able to nonetheless get among the advantages should you’re utilizing it in recipes that contain water or moisture.
On prime of that, garlic powder retains another vital vitamins like Vitamin B6, calcium, and manganese, in addition to some sulfur compounds, that are answerable for garlic’s attribute odor and a few of its well being advantages.
So, although contemporary garlic remains to be the gold customary, garlic powder is much from nutritionally void—it simply brings its advantages in a special type.
What Are the Advantages of Garlic Powder?
Garlic powder presents 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 optimistic impact on coronary heart well being. Research have proven that garlic powder might help scale back levels of cholesterol, notably LDL ldl cholesterol, which is the “unhealthy” form that may result in plaque buildup in your arteries. Reducing LDL ldl cholesterol can scale back the danger of coronary heart illness.
Garlic powder can also assist decrease blood stress. A meta-analysis of scientific trials discovered that garlic powder considerably decreased each systolic (the highest quantity) and diastolic (the underside quantity) blood stress.
For those who’re searching for a pure method to assist your cardiovascular system, including garlic powder to your weight loss plan might be a simple step in the precise route.
Garlic Powder Fights Dangerous Micro organism
Garlic powder has robust antibacterial properties because of a compound known as allicin, which types when the powder is blended with water.
Allicin might help cease the expansion of dangerous micro organism like Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a sort 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 scale back the danger of foodborne diseases.
Garlic Powder Reduces Irritation
Garlic, together with its powdered type, has anti-inflammatory results, which might help scale 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 situations 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 combating off infections or coping with harm. Whereas garlic powder doesn’t considerably scale back IL-6, it nonetheless helps decrease different vital inflammatory markers.
Garlic Powder Helps Your Immune System
Garlic powder might help enhance your immune system and will even have antiviral results. While 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 assist 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 nicely garlic powder works, the allicin it types means it may well supply among the similar immune-boosting and antiviral advantages as contemporary garlic.
Garlic Powder Accommodates Antioxidants
Garlic, together with its powdered type, accommodates antioxidants, which assist shield your cells from injury brought on by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that may injury cells and contribute to getting older and ailments like coronary heart illness and most cancers. The antioxidants in garlic powder could assist decelerate the getting older course of and scale back the danger of those continual situations.
Whereas garlic powder could have barely fewer antioxidants than contemporary garlic, it nonetheless retains sufficient of those useful compounds, resembling allicin and different organosulfur compounds, to supply protecting results. These compounds assist neutralize free radicals and may assist total well being.
Garlic Powder Helps Digestive Well being
Garlic is thought for its potential to assist 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 useful micro organism within the intestine whereas inhibiting dangerous micro organism, resembling 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 could assist forestall digestive points and assist total intestine well being.
Is Garlic Powder as Good for You as Recent Garlic?
Recent garlic has increased ranges of allicin and Vitamin C, giving it a slight edge in efficiency. Nevertheless, garlic powder nonetheless supplies most of the similar well being advantages in a extra handy type.
Whereas it might not match contemporary garlic’s speedy results, garlic powder retains sufficient of its lively compounds to make it a useful, shelf-stable different for supporting coronary heart well being, digestion, and immunity.
What In regards to the Facet Results?
Whereas garlic powder presents many well being advantages, it’s vital to concentrate on potential unintended effects. Some individuals could expertise abdomen points like heartburn, fuel, or bloating when consuming garlic, together with garlic powder. These digestive points are extra doubtless should you eat giant quantities of garlic powder or you probably have a delicate abdomen.
Moreover, garlic (each contemporary and powdered) could skinny the blood, so in case you are taking blood-thinning medicine, you need to seek the advice of your physician earlier than growing your garlic consumption. Some individuals can also expertise allergic reactions to garlic, although that is uncommon.
Usually, garlic powder is protected when utilized in reasonable quantities in cooking, however should you discover any discomfort, it’s greatest to regulate your consumption.
The Backside Line
Garlic powder could not have all of the vitamins of contemporary garlic, however it nonetheless presents most 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 hold in your kitchen when contemporary garlic isn’t out there.
Extra Research:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2584604/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1286457999800033
