Black garlic: Why is there so much hype about it?

People in some Asian countries like Thailand, South Korea, and Japan have been using black garlic as a traditional food for centuries. It is emerging as one of the most well-known functional foods in global market. Read to know more about it.

Are you hearing it for the first time? We are not surprised as not many people know what black garlic is. For all those who don't know about it, black garlic is nothing but the regular garlic that has aged or has been fermented.

What would you do if the garlic turns black in colour after keeping for long? Most probably you will consider throwing it away. But it is eaten as a healthy food in many countries. It may be hard to believe it, but many high-end restaurants use it as an ingredient in a variety of dishes as it can enhance the taste of food. People in some Asian countries like Thailand, South Korea, and Japan have been using it as a traditional food for centuries. Black garlic is used in preparing sweet and savoury dishes these countries. It was only in the recent decades that it started emerging as one of the most well-known functional foods in global market.

The benefits of garlic are well known around the world. Though the old black garlic may have lost its pungent smell and taste, its nutritional value remains intact. This means it can offer similar health benefits like the regular raw garlic. In fact, some believe that aged black garlic contains more antioxidants than the fresh one. Research says it has abundant amount of antioxidant compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, tetrahydro- -carboline derivatives, and organosulfur compounds, including S-allyl-cysteine and S-allyl-mercaptocysteine. It is also believed to be an excellent source of protein, fiber, iron, vitamin C and calcium.

How black garlic is produced

Black garlic is prepared from fresh garlic via fermentation. The whole bulbs or peeled cloves of fresh garlic are put in a chamber at high humidity (70 90%) and temperature(60 90 C) for a period of time. According to experts, fermentation not only changes the nutrition components and sensory attributes but also enhances the bioactivity of black garlic.

Unlike the raw garlic, black garlic has a typical black color, sweet taste, and chewy texture sans the pungent odor.

Health benefits of black garlic

Eating black garlic may be good for people with diabetes as it is known to help balance the blood sugar level. The high antioxidant content may help prevent diabetes complications, boost heart health and strengthen immunity. The list of benefits doesn't end here. It is also claimed that black garlic can promote metabolism, protect the liver from infections and damage, improve brain health and sharpen memory.

Several studies have also demonstrated the therapeutic effects of black garlic, including anticancer, anti-obesity, immunomodulatory, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective effects, in the last few decades.

There has been a growing number of evidences supporting the anticancer effect of black garlic. Some studies suggested that black garlic may be used as a dietary product for preventing and treating certain cancers like gastric cancer and leukemia.

Black garlic is also one of the several functional foods that are proposed in preventing and/or treating obesity. A study published in 2015 showed that the diet supplemented with 1.5% black garlic extract not only reduce weight but also decrease kidney and epididymal fat in high-fat study models.

Caution: Consult a nutritionist before you add black garlic in your diet.