Garlic: Health Benefits, Vitamin C, Glycemic Index & How to Use It

The pungent little powerhouse

Garlic is technically a vegetable from the onion family, but we use it like an herb. It's the ultimate flavor foundation, adding a savory, aromatic depth that's hard to replicate. While a whole head of garlic has a surprising amount of carbohydrates, nobody eats that much. A clove or two is all you need, and in those small amounts, garlic is mostly a delivery system for flavor and fascinating sulfur compounds.

The most famous of these is allicin. It's not actually in the garlic clove to begin with. It's formed when you damage the garlic's cells — by chopping, crushing, or chewing — causing an enzyme (alliinase) to mix with a compound (alliin). That reaction creates the pungent, healthy, and occasionally breath-destroying allicin.

Garlic nutrition facts

The numbers for a standard 100-gram serving (about 30 cloves) look high, but remember that a typical recipe uses just one to three cloves (around 3-9 grams). It's a useful way to compare it to other vegetables, but not how you'd actually eat it.

The allicin question

So if allicin is the star, how do you get the most of it? It's fragile. The enzyme that creates it is destroyed by heat. If you throw whole cloves into a hot pan, you'll get a lovely roasted garlic flavor, but you won't get much allicin.

The trick is to chop or crush your garlic first, then let it sit on the cutting board for about 10 minutes before you introduce it to heat. This gives the enzyme time to work its magic and create a good supply of allicin. Some of that allicin will then survive a brief cooking time. For maximum potency? You have to eat it raw, but that's a bold move for most of us.

Garlic's glycemic index

You won't find an official glycemic index number for garlic, and for good reason: it's irrelevant. You use so little that its 3 grams of carbohydrate per serving have virtually no impact on your blood sugar. It's one of the best tools you have for adding incredible flavor to food without adding sugar, fat, or anything that would cause a glucose spike. It's all flavor, no consequences.

The smart way to use it

Getting the best from garlic is easy. It's more about technique than complicated recipes.

What garlic is good for

What to pair garlic with

What doesn't garlic pair with? It's the ultimate team player. Here are a few classic partnerships.

Use freely — or be mindful?

Three ways to use it

Beyond just chopping it into a pan, here are three simple recipes that put garlic front and center.