Too Much Garlic: Side Effects, How Much to Eat, and More (2024)

FAQs

Too Much Garlic: Side Effects, How Much to Eat, and More? ›

Eating 1-2 garlic cloves daily can have health benefits, but more can cause bad breath, heartburn, stomach issues, and other unpleasant side effects. It's best to enjoy it in moderation. For many home chefs, garlic is a favorite spice to cook with, thanks to its pungent taste and aroma.

If you're having a particularly garlic-heavy meal, eat apples for dessert or chew on fresh mint leaves. One study indicated that the chemical makeup of raw or heated apples, lettuce, and mint helped deodorize garlic breath. Hot green tea and lemon juice may also help.

Raw garlic also retains more allicin, which is the sulfur-containing compound responsible for many of garlic's beneficial health effects. For best results, aim for around 1–2 cloves per day and reduce your intake if you experience any side effects, such as heartburn, acid reflux, or increased bleeding.

Dosages generally recommended in the literature for adults are 4 g (one to two cloves) of raw garlic per day, one 300-mg dried garlic powder tablet (standardized to 1.3 percent alliin or 0.6 percent allicin yield) two to three times per day, or 7.2 g of aged garlic extract per day.

Certain ingredients can help to balance or neutralize the garlic taste. Acidic ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar can help to cut through the strong flavors of garlic. Adding dairy products like milk, cream, or yogurt can also help to mellow the taste and create a more balanced dish.

If ingestion occurred within a few hours of treatment, the veterinarian may induce vomiting. Once vomiting is controlled, medical-grade activated charcoal may be administered. This can decrease absorption of the poisons from the gastrointestinal tract. Activated charcoal should only be administered by a veterinarian.

You shouldn't add too much garlic to your diet, too quickly. "One to two cloves a day should be the maximum consumed by anyone," says Tracey Brigman, a food and nutrition expert at the University of Georgia. Eating more than that may cause upset stomach, diarrhea, bloating, or bad breath.

Garlic contains fructan, a compound that causes many problems for the stomach and intestines. Eating too much garlic will directly stimulate the digestive tract, which can damage the stomach lining. From there can cause symptoms of nagging, heartburn, flatulence even peptic ulcers.

Science Of Stink: Blame Sulfur Compounds For Your Garlic Breath : The Salt A sulfur compound in garlic can linger in the body for up to two days, stinking up your breath, sweat and pee. Milk, parsley or citrus might help break it down more quickly or mask the stench.

1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 g/kg body weight/day of garlic showed significant (P<0.001) deterioration in liver function tests (LFT's) after 21, 14 and 7 days respectively. A 1.0 g/kg body weight/day dose of garlic was associated with marked histological damage in liver after 21 days.

Is 10 cloves of garlic a day too much? ›

How much should you eat? Although no official recommendations exist for how much garlic you should eat, studies show that eating 1–2 cloves (3–6 grams) per day may have health benefits ( 1 ). If you notice any side effects after eating more than this amount, consider reducing your intake.

Dosing. Suggested average daily doses include 2 to 5 g of fresh raw garlic; 0.4 to 1.2 g of dried garlic powder; 2 to 5 mg of garlic oil; 300 to 1,000 mg of garlic extract (as solid material); and 2,400 mg/day of aged garlic extract (liquid).

The most common dosage size is between 500-1500mg – up to 2500mg could be considered a large dose. However, 5,000mg garlic extract supplements do exist and can be safely taken in accordance to their instructions, if you're looking for the most effective supplement.

Add lemon juice

This works particularly well with crushed garlic. The acid in lemon juice neutralizes alliinase, an enzyme produced by crushing garlic that causes our unfortunate odor situations.

Garlic Can Cause Gastrointestinal Upset

This is especially likely if you are eating more garlic than you normally do or if you consume raw garlic. If you have an upset stomach after eating garlic, you can try eating bland foods such as rice, bananas or bread.

A few words of caution

And, despite garlic's many health benefits, don't add too much to your diet too quickly. Overdoing it can cause discomfort, including upset stomach, bloating, diarrhea, body odor and bad breath.

If you have a food intolerance to garlic, your doctor may recommend that you stop eating it. They may also suggest medications, such as over-the-counter antacids, to help with your symptoms.

Eating too much garlic will directly stimulate the digestive tract, which can damage the stomach lining. From there can cause symptoms of nagging, heartburn, flatulence even peptic ulcers. Allicin in garlic can cause hemolysis, leading to anemia.

Chewing parsley after eating is an age-old remedy for garlic or onion breath. This herb cleanses the palate and masks unpleasant odors. Mint leaves have also been shown to significantly reduce garlic breath.