- Properties and benefits
- 1. Prevent premature aging
- 2. Helps prevent and treat cancer
- 3. Helps you lose weight and control cholesterol
- 4. Is anti-inflammatory
- 5. Improve memory
- 6. Protect the liver
- How it is obtained
- How to use black garlic
Black garlic is a vegetable obtained from fresh garlic, which is subjected to a fermentation process under controlled temperature and humidity for a certain period of time. This process transforms fresh garlic into black garlic, which changes its color, consistency and composition, reduces the strong flavor and smell and gives it a sweet taste and elastic texture when chewed.
When compared to fresh garlic, black garlic has more benefits, since its physico-chemical properties are changed during fermentation, in which allicin, which is the substance that gives fresh garlic its intense smell and flavor, is converted beneficial compounds for health, such as polyphenols, flavonoids and organosulfur compounds.
Properties and benefits
Black garlic has numerous anti-cancer, antioxidant, liver-protecting, immunomodulating, neuroprotective, hypoglycemic and anti-obesity properties, and can provide several health benefits, such as:
1. Prevent premature aging
It has been shown that black garlic contains antioxidant compounds, such as polyphenols, alkaloids, flavonoids and cysteine, which are obtained in the fermentation process of fresh garlic and which, in the body, help to neutralize cellular damage caused by free radicals, preventing premature aging and improving diseases, such as diabetes.
2. Helps prevent and treat cancer
Black garlic has been shown to increase tumor cell death and inhibit its growth in leukemia and colon and stomach cancer, and to decrease tumor size in stomach cancer.
3. Helps you lose weight and control cholesterol
Black garlic helps to reduce body weight, when combined with physical exercise, by increasing metabolism and reducing the size of fat-containing cells, adipocytes, in the abdominal region. In addition, it also helps to regulate insulin and blood sugar levels, helping to control diabetes and appetite.
In addition, it also reduces triglycerides and bad blood cholesterol (LDL), and increases good cholesterol (HDL). According to one study, consumption of about 6 grams of black garlic a day helps prevent atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
4. Is anti-inflammatory
Some studies suggest that, thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, black garlic helps fight diseases and septicemia, as it stimulates the body's defense cells, in addition to reducing the production of pro-inflammatory cells.
5. Improve memory
Black garlic contributes to the proper functioning of memory and helps to protect the nervous system, as it improves cognitive processes and prevents neuro-inflammation and neuro-toxicity, preventing neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's.
According to a study carried out with black garlic, a daily intake of 12.5 mg to 50 mg po kg of weight, could exert this neuroprotective effect.
6. Protect the liver
Some studies have shown that a daily intake of 200 mg / kg of body weight may help protect the liver from side effects of drugs, chemicals, alcohol and infections, to which it is vulnerable.
In addition, it can also help to improve liver diseases, such as fatty liver, favoring the reduction of fat accumulated in this organ.
How it is obtained
Black garlic is obtained from fresh garlic, through a process that consists of its fermentation at controlled temperatures that are between 60ºC and 90ºC, with a humidity also controlled, between 70 to 90%, for a certain period of time. time.
This process makes the garlic increasingly darker due to the fermentation process, in which some of the garlic components are converted, as is the case of allicin, which gives rise to alkaloids and flavonoids, which give properties to black garlic.. See the differences in relation to fresh garlic.
How to use black garlic
Black garlic gives the food a very pleasant flavor and can be used in a variety of ways, such as preparing sauces, mixing crushed garlic with soy sauce or olive oil, in seasoning foods such as meats, salads or pasta, or using pieces for making garlic bread, for example.
In addition, there are currently black garlic supplements that can be purchased through online stores and natural products. It is important to read the manufacturer's instructions and consult with a healthcare professional about the dose, which will depend on the intended use of the supplement.
