Garlic And Type 2 Diabetes

[Mr.NK69]

@Mr.NK69 I was so intrigued by your question because garlic has a number of beneficial effects, and I also like it, so I had a look around. For me, an equally important question is how to incorporate it into our daily diet.

During my wanderings I read that a 1/2 clove is considered a serving, though some eat 1 - 3 cloves. It needs to be thinly sliced, chopped, minced, or crushed then eaten raw within an hours time to get the full medicinal benefits. (I also read warnings to not slice and swallow with water alone because it stings going down and can cause stomach upset, but to each his own.)

Of all the options described, here's a few low carb friendly ways to incorporate it into your food...

add it thinly sliced to your salad or finely minced in your vinaigrette or salad dressing

add it when making fresh pesto, salsa, or guacamole (or buy it ready made and add fresh garlic)

combine olive oil, garlic (thinly sliced, chopped or minced), and fresh oregano; allow to sit for up to an hour; add diced tomato, stir and enjoy

"Garlic has shown promise in treating a wide range of diseases and medical conditions — from lowering cholesterol and blood pressure to preventing many gastrointestinal cancers — but not all garlic is created equal.

Eating raw garlic is by far the best way to maximize its health benefits, far superior to pills and supplements.

Garlic produces allicin, an organosulfur compound that is created when garlic is crushed, chopped, or minced.

Allicin is extremely unstable and quickly breaks down into other sulfur-containing compounds such as diallyl disulfide.

These compounds react with the human body in various complex ways, appearing to lower blood pressure and reduce arterial fatty plaque build-up.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the chain reaction is quick and that garlic should be consumed within an hour or two of activating the allicin (by crushing or mincing the garlic) to get the full potential health benefits.

Stomach acids can also lower the effect of allicin, so try not to eat raw garlic on an empty stomach; even a glass of water first will help by lowering stomach pH slightly.

Heat can also destroy allicin and its resulting sulfur-containing compounds, so recipes that call for cooking garlic at high heat for long periods of time cancel out most of its healthy boosts.



Romanian Red garlic is a popular Porcelain cultivar known for its high allicin content. Photo courtesy of AdaptiveSeeds.com.

Baking or roasting whole cloves or heads of garlic also won’t produce allicin as the cloves must be crushed, chopped, or minced to mix the parts together that produce allicin.

If you’re turning to garlic solely for its health benefits, your best bet is to eat a garlic high in allicin — which is true of Porcelain garlic varieties such as Romanian Red — and to eat at least one raw clove of garlic per day.

Chop the garlic and let it sit for 15 minutes. Raw garlic can be hot and spicy so proceed with caution when first starting. And keep in mind that eating raw garlic doesn’t just mean straight down the hatch; raw garlic only means that it hasn’t been extensively cooked."

- from https://www.mmmgarlic.com/garlic-health-benefits/eating-raw-garlic-five-easy-ways/ Lots of interesting, tabbed information on this site: types of garlic, growing garlic, cooking with garlic, and garlic health benefits. I'm still reading it...

I also found these two blog posts on raw garlic informative and a bit entertaining...

https://www.plantoeat.com/blog/2012/10/ten-ways-to-eat-raw-garlic-every-day/
https://gwens-nest.com/eating-raw-garlic/

Great information many thanks I am not a massive garlic fan but have been eating pickled garlic along with pickled olives with my food for quite some time I guess it's been a bit of a waste as fresh/raw is always best

 

[Mr.NK69]

@Mr.NK69 I was so intrigued by your question because garlic has a number of beneficial effects, and I also like it, so I had a look around. For me, an equally important question is how to incorporate it into our daily diet.

During my wanderings I read that a 1/2 clove is considered a serving, though some eat 1 - 3 cloves. It needs to be thinly sliced, chopped, minced, or crushed then eaten raw within an hours time to get the full medicinal benefits. (I also read warnings to not slice and swallow with water alone because it stings going down and can cause stomach upset, but to each his own.)

Of all the options described, here's a few low carb friendly ways to incorporate it into your food...

add it thinly sliced to your salad or finely minced in your vinaigrette or salad dressing

add it when making fresh pesto, salsa, or guacamole (or buy it ready made and add fresh garlic)

combine olive oil, garlic (thinly sliced, chopped or minced), and fresh oregano; allow to sit for up to an hour; add diced tomato, stir and enjoy

"Garlic has shown promise in treating a wide range of diseases and medical conditions — from lowering cholesterol and blood pressure to preventing many gastrointestinal cancers — but not all garlic is created equal.

Eating raw garlic is by far the best way to maximize its health benefits, far superior to pills and supplements.

Garlic produces allicin, an organosulfur compound that is created when garlic is crushed, chopped, or minced.

Allicin is extremely unstable and quickly breaks down into other sulfur-containing compounds such as diallyl disulfide.

These compounds react with the human body in various complex ways, appearing to lower blood pressure and reduce arterial fatty plaque build-up.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the chain reaction is quick and that garlic should be consumed within an hour or two of activating the allicin (by crushing or mincing the garlic) to get the full potential health benefits.

Stomach acids can also lower the effect of allicin, so try not to eat raw garlic on an empty stomach; even a glass of water first will help by lowering stomach pH slightly.

Heat can also destroy allicin and its resulting sulfur-containing compounds, so recipes that call for cooking garlic at high heat for long periods of time cancel out most of its healthy boosts.



Romanian Red garlic is a popular Porcelain cultivar known for its high allicin content. Photo courtesy of AdaptiveSeeds.com.

Baking or roasting whole cloves or heads of garlic also won’t produce allicin as the cloves must be crushed, chopped, or minced to mix the parts together that produce allicin.

If you’re turning to garlic solely for its health benefits, your best bet is to eat a garlic high in allicin — which is true of Porcelain garlic varieties such as Romanian Red — and to eat at least one raw clove of garlic per day.

Chop the garlic and let it sit for 15 minutes. Raw garlic can be hot and spicy so proceed with caution when first starting. And keep in mind that eating raw garlic doesn’t just mean straight down the hatch; raw garlic only means that it hasn’t been extensively cooked."

- from https://www.mmmgarlic.com/garlic-health-benefits/eating-raw-garlic-five-easy-ways/ Lots of interesting, tabbed information on this site: types of garlic, growing garlic, cooking with garlic, and garlic health benefits. I'm still reading it...

I also found these two blog posts on raw garlic informative and a bit entertaining...

https://www.plantoeat.com/blog/2012/10/ten-ways-to-eat-raw-garlic-every-day/
https://gwens-nest.com/eating-raw-garlic/

Great information many thanks i have been eating pickled garlic and olives for a while with my main meal always suspected that fresh was best but thought something better than nothing going in will try to do it raw/fresh

 

[Tabbyjoolz]

I adore garlic. Luckily it seems to have little effect on my BG so I'm still using far more than any recipe indicates. Even luckier is that everyone I know adores garlic too.

 

[carty]

We eat lots of garlic in many ways some raw some cooked ,I haven't noticed any changes in my BGs though .Favourite is a bulb of garlic cooked on the BBQ until cloves are like toffee .Ok maybe not the healthiest but low carb Toffee
Carol

 

[hankjam]

munch substantial amounts of garlic, raw, baked and in sauces, not sure it has done me any good on BG's... would be lost without in ma food.

 

[Deleted Account]

Coincidentally, just seen this: https://www.express.co.uk/life-styl...s-type-2-blood-sugar-levels-lower-diet-garlic
published Saturday.

 

[Winnie53]

Great information many thanks I am not a massive garlic fan but have been eating pickled garlic along with pickled olives with my food for quite some time I guess it's been a bit of a waste as fresh/raw is always best

Those are my favorite green olives! I also like thinly sliced dill pickles with garlic. Yum!

 

[Winnie53]

Thanks for the link @helensaramay.

I thought this quote from the article was odd: "Diabetes.co.uk, an online organisation to help people with diabetes type 2, said sufferers should steer clear of garlic." I wonder what they're quoting?

 

[rhubarb73]

My rule of thumb is where a recipe calls for garlic always add one extra clove (even when the number stated is one).
Love garlic salt on my eggs in the morning.
No impact on my BG that I can tell.

 

[Winnie53]

Love your rule rhubarb73!

It probably should be restated... To receive the health benefits of garlic, it needs to be sliced, chopped, minced, or crushed, allowed to rest for a few minutes, then eaten raw.