When choosing to enter a diet, such as a keto diet, you might wonder if your favorite seasonings, such as garlic, are still on your ‘to eat’ list. Garlic has a strong, yet versatile flavor, and comes with a number of benefits to your health, so it’s natural to wonder if your diet can include it.
Garlic is actually highly keto-friendly. The strong flavor usually means it’s used in moderation, which helps keep the carb count lower – and garlic is already pretty low carb.
This article explores the use of garlic in a Keto Diet, how much you should eat, and potential drawbacks of too much garlic.
Table of Contents
Is Garlic Keto Friendly?
Garlic is extremely keto friendly.
100 grams of it will push your macros a little high with 33 carbs total. But 100 grams is also well above the normal recommended serving size for adding garlic to your food, and more than most people will consume at one meal, or even a full day.
To give you some perspective, a whole clove of garlic is approximately 2 grams. So you’d have to eat 50 cloves of garlic to come close to that 33 carb level.
What Are The Recommended Serving Sizes For Garlic?
The recommended servings vary based on how the garlic is prepared. The numbers are somewhat different when talking about whole garlic, roasted garlic, garlic powder, or minced garlic.
Whole Garlic Cloves (Raw):
Recommended Serving Size: 1-2 cloves
Number of carbs: ~5g in total, depending on size of cloves.
Roasted Garlic:
Recommended Serving Size: 3 cloves
Number of carbs: ~ 2g in total
Minced Garlic:
Recommended Serving Size: About 1 teaspoon
Number of carbs: ~ 1.32g in total
Garlic Powder:
Recommended Serving Size: About 1 teaspoon
Number of carbs: ~ 2.04g in total.
In other words, you’d need to eat a minimum of 20 times the recommended serving size to come close to reaching a high micro count.
What is the Recommended Daily Amount of Garlic?
The common suggestion is to limit your daily intake of garlic to the equivalent of 1-2 whole cloves.
Ingesting more than this on a daily basis has the potential to cause negative side effects.
The common suggestion is to limit your daily intake of garlic to the equivalent of 1-2 whole cloves.
Ingesting more than this on a daily basis has the potential to cause negative side effects.
What is the Best Way To Prepare Garlic For Eating on a Keto Diet?
Raw garlic is considered the best option for a keto diet since it minimizes calories and maximizes the benefits. Raw garlic can be added to your diet a number of ways, aside from simply chewing on the cloves.
Diced garlic can be mixed in a salad to add a little bit of pep.
Sprinkle on your favorite meat or veggie dishes before or after cooking to add some flavor.
Add to soups, as part of the recipe, or as a bit of a garnish.
Mix into an herbal tonic.
Read also >> Is Ghee Keto Friendly? (All You Need to Know)
Read also >> Are Salads Good for Low Carb Diets? (Keto Salads)
Are There Benefits to Eating Garlic on a Keto Diet?
Garlic has a number of health benefits, whatever diet you’re on. The benefits of garlic as a regular part of your diet include:
– Fighting Infections:
Garlic helps your body combat most types of infections including bacterial, fungal, and viral. It can also help boost your immune system so other illnesses can’t give you as much trouble.
– Regulate Blood Pressure:
Specifically, garlic can help lower your blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure or heart problems, regular doses of garlic can help keep you healthier and reduce the risk of heart attacks.
– Lowers Cholesterol:
Cholesterol is divided into ‘Good Cholesterol’ (HDL), and ‘Bad Cholesterol’ (LDL). Regular doses of garlic can lower your LDL, sometimes up to 15%, without having any negative impact on your HDL.
– Helps Your Brain Function:
Garlic has several beneficial minerals, including B6, Magnesium, Iron, and Potassium. A lot of these, particularly B6 and Magnesium, are known to boost the health of your brain, and help with mood regulation.
– Anti-Inflammatory:
Garlic contains allyl sulfides that can fight inflammation, among other things. These sulfides can also reduce the amount of free radicals in your system.
– Helps Support Liver Function:
Garlic has been shown to protect the liver from toxins. This in turn helps the body get rid of other toxins more efficiently, which is better for your body overall.
– Healthy Skin:
Regular garlic consumption can give you healthier skin, in large part due to the other health benefits it offers.
Antibacterial properties can help reduce the frequency of acne. Anti-inflammatory properties can help with circulation, to make sure your skin gets the proper amount of nutrients.
How does Garlic Produce These Benefits?
There are many vitamins and minerals in garlic, but most of the benefits come from a compound called allicin, which is present in garlic in large quantities.
Is it Possible to Eat Too Much Garlic?
Generally speaking, it would take a lot of garlic to cause any sort of problem. However, you may want to be cautious about introducing too much to your diet too quickly, especially if you have digestive issues.
Individuals with digestive issues may suffer an upset stomach or other digestive complaints such as bloating and diarrhea.
People with ulcers or sensitive stomachs may also risk bleeding from an over-irritated stomach lining.
Even individuals without sensitive stomachs may experience some negative effects, in the form of body odor or bad breath.
How Can I Avoid Negative Side Effects?
The best way to avoid negative side effects is to combine your garlic intake with other foods, to help counteract the strength of the garlic.
Garlic bread is a popular choice, as the bread can help absorb some of the harsher elements, but may also contain too many carbs for a keto diet.
You may also consider increasing your intake gradually, to allow your body to get used to regular doses of garlic.
Overall, garlic is a keto-friendly seasoning that has a number of healthy benefits. As long as you maintain a reasonable rate of consumption, there’s no reason not to benefit from a regular dose of this versatile spice.
References
https://www.wholesomeyum.com/is-garlic-keto/
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