Black garlic is a gourmet ingredient that is becoming more popular and is featured on cooking shows such as Top Chef. What sets it apart from the fresh garlic we find at the grocery store and farmers market is that it goes through an aging process under heat, which changes its flavor and texture and gives it a dramatic dark color. This aging is what gives it its unique taste and flavor, which is much less pungent than fresh garlic.
Garlic is a superfood with many health benefits, including lowering cholesterol, regulating blood sugar and helping to fight cancer, but black garlic has an additional property that makes it even more beneficial – antioxidant properties. The aging process that turns garlic into black garlic increases its antioxidants by up to 10 times, making it one of the most powerful antioxidant foods on the planet.
Antioxidants are vital for our overall health because they neutralize free radicals, which can damage cells and lead to a host of chronic diseases, including cancer. Research has shown that black garlic contains compounds that are able to prevent and even treat some forms of cancer, such as breast, liver, stomach, and colon. Black garlic also boosts the immune system, which is crucial to maintaining good health.
The anti-inflammatory benefits of black garlic are also very important for our overall health. It decreases inflammation in our bodies, which can contribute to conditions like arthritis and atherosclerosis. It does this by decreasing nitric oxide production and blocking the proteins that trigger inflammation. It also stops the synthesis of inflammatory cells, which can cause tissue damage.
Black garlic is known to reduce the levels of LDL cholesterol in our body, which can prevent a buildup of plaque in our arteries and cardiovascular disease. It is rich in organo-sulfuric compounds that can relax the muscles of our blood vessels and lower blood pressure. Studies have shown that black garlic can help people with mild to moderate high cholesterol by increasing their HDL cholesterol levels in just two weeks.
Black garlic can help lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity in diabetics, according to a recent study that was conducted on rats. However, more research on human subjects is required to confirm this effect. The antioxidants in black garlic can also protect against some types of cancer, according to several studies on cell cultures. However, most compounds that have “anti-cancer” effects on cells do not pan out in living organisms, so this is still early research and more testing is needed.