What happens to your cold symptoms when you eat garlic?

Garlic is a spice used to flavor foods. Traditional medicine incorporates garlic to treat various health conditions due to its high content of bioactive compounds.

1. Your immune system is boosted

Adding aged garlic extract to your diet may help boost your immune function, potentially reducing inflammation.

One study observed an increase in immune cell activity after 90 days of daily consumption of aged garlic extract.

Greater immune cell activity helps your body fight pathogens more efficiently.

2. Your cold symptoms may be less severe

When you consume aged garlic extract, you may experience less or less intense upper respiratory symptoms, such as sore throat, cough, and congestion.

Garlic increases the number of immune cells in your body, which may lead to fewer or less severe cold symptoms because your body is more able to mount an immune response.

3. Your cold may be shorter

Although aged garlic extract can’t entirely shorten the length of your cold, it can help you feel better sooner. Eating garlic can help reduce the number of suboptimal days when you cannot function normally.

Garlic may reduce the duration of colds by supporting immune function. Evidence suggests that daily consumption of garlic may reduce the number of colds you get each season. Further research is needed in this area.

Does eating garlic help with colds?

Eating garlic won’t prevent you from catching a cold, but it can help reduce the number and severity of your symptoms.

Eating garlic may help relieve a cold by inhibiting viral cell replication.

Yet there is little research on the effectiveness of consuming garlic for colds.

Prioritize adding garlic to your diet over taking supplements, as whole garlic has few safety concerns.

How much garlic should you eat to fight a cold?

There is no set amount of whole garlic to eat to help with a cold.

Some research suggests that taking 2.5 grams of aged garlic extract daily helped boost immune function, reduce cold symptoms and severity, and shorten the duration of colds.

Is garlic safe for me?

Consuming garlic whole is relatively safe. Do not eat garlic if you are allergic to it or its parts.

However, eating whole garlic can cause some side effects, such as breath and body odor, stomach pain, gas, and nausea.

Garlic supplements may increase the risk of bleeding. People taking blood thinners (blood thinners) or aspirin should use caution when using garlic supplements. Garlic supplements may be dangerous for pregnant or breastfeeding people.

Always consult your healthcare professional before starting a new supplement.

How to Add Garlic to Your Diet

• Brown garlic with oil as a flavor base for dishes
• Make Garlic Infused Olive Oil
• Roast with vegetables, fish or meat
• Use in salad dressings
• Add to sauces and dips
• Rub on toast for added flavor