What Is Garlic?

Garlic grows underground in the form of a bulb. (Its long green shoots produce flower stalks called scapes, which can be eaten.) Covered in an inedible papery skin, the bulb, or head as it is more often referred to, is comprised of individual sections called cloves, and there can be anywhere from 10 to 20 cloves per head. These cloves are themselves enclosed in a paperlike skin, which needs to be removed, and the pale yellowish flesh within is the part of the garlic that is used in cooking and can be cut in a variety of ways

Garlic, which is inexpensive, is generally used as a flavoring ingredient in recipes rather than as the main ingredient itself. An exception to this is roasted garlic, which can be eaten as a spread or condiment.

Nutrition and Benefits

Before garlic became a prominent ingredient, it was used for its medicinal properties for thousands of years to both treat and prevent illness. Garlic may be beneficial to our cardiovascular system by reducing blood pressure and lowering levels of LDL, the “bad” cholesterol.1

It is known to contain antioxidants that can help protect against cell damage and aging, which may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.2 Garlic has also shown to help prevent and reduce the severity of the common cold and the flu.