Why Everyone's Talking About Raw Garlic's Surprising Health Benefits

Edson Brandao’s morning ritual is not for the faint of heart.

Every day, the biohacker, influencer and anti-aging coach peels a clove of garlic, crushes it, mixes it with a spoonful of honey and downs the pungent slurry.

“It’s a small habit, but it supports my healthy lifestyle,” Brandao (@iamedsonbrandao) told The Post. “I believe it helps me maintain my youthful appearance and stable energy at 59.”

Brandao started the ritual a few years ago after a difficult period marked by depression, weight gain and signs of aging.

“I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror,” he said. “I wanted to feel strong again, improve my skin and support my body in a natural way.”

As he began paying closer attention to his health, garlic and honey became part of his daily routine. “I feel more energized, my digestion is better and my immune system feels stronger,” he said.

Brandao’s embrace of garlic is part of a much bigger obsession taking hold online. Across social media, biohackers, longevity enthusiasts and wellness warriors are making one of the world’s oldest natural remedies trendy again. 

“Chopped up garlic has worked better than any supplement I have tried,” one Reddit user wrote. “Its mood-boosting and blood flow effect is insane.”

“What kind of sorcery is this?” commented another. “I struggle with fatigue due to medicine side effects, and this one little chump of raw garlic just made me more awake and energized than a bowl of Red Bull.”

A third went to far as to crown it the “ultimate biohack.”

Like Brandao, some mix garlic with honey, which he says “makes the taste softer and easier to take.” Others let the two ingredients ferment before eating them.

“Garlic honey destroys bad gut bacteria, rebalances your microbiome and ignites fat-burning from the inside out,” one woman proclaimed on Instagram, while another claimed it’s “one of the most potent natural antibiotics in the world.”

The deeper you venture into this corner of the internet, the longer the list of supposed benefits gets. Fans say garlic can do everything from lower cholesterol, detox parasites, support heart health and improve insulin sensitivity to clear acne, eliminate brain fog and even cure a cold within 24 hours.

For those who can’t stomach a clove, there’s always the supplement aisle. Aged garlic capsules and extracts are frequently pitched online as a way to get many of the same supposed perks without the strong smell or flavor.

But is there evidence to back up the hype?

For all the wild claims circulating online, garlic does have legitimate research behind it — for some things, including heart health.

Gary Brecka, a biohacker who hosts “The Ultimate Human Podcast” on optimizing health, highlighted blood pressure in particular.

“We’ve got meta-analyses — that’s studies of studies — showing garlic drops systolic blood pressure by up to 10 points in people who need it most,” he said. “That’s in the same neighborhood as a dose of a prescription blood-pressure drug.”

Dr. Joel Kahn, a cardiologist and founder of the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity, frequently recommends aged garlic extract supplements to patients “because of the proven benefits of lowering blood pressure, modest lowering of LDL-cholesterol, lowering of homocysteine, and contributing to heart artery plaque stabilization and even partial reversal,” he said.

He also pointed to data suggesting benefits for muscle health and producing NAD+.

Amy Shapiro, a registered dietitian and nutritionist, said garlic is also worthwhile from a basic dietary standpoint.

“It contains manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, selenium and fiber, along with sulfur compounds like allicin — formed when garlic is crushed or chopped — that drive most of its health benefits,” she explained. 

There’s also evidence suggesting garlic may give the immune system a boost. 

“Studies show garlic has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic properties,” said Dave Asprey, a best-selling author, longevity expert and creator of the biohacking movement. “It’s powerful medicine when you need it.”

But the science isn’t always clear-cut

“The research has some holes,” Brecka said, noting that many studies are short and have everyone on a different form at a different dose. Some evidence also comes from lab or animal studies, which may not translate to humans — and even human trials have produced mixed results.

Garlic’s purported effect on cholesterol is a case in point.

In 2007, Stanford University nutrition researcher Dr. Christopher Gardner set out to test whether garlic could actually lower LDL cholesterol.

His team conducted the first independent, long-term, head-to-head comparison of raw garlic and garlic supplements. For six months, 200 participants consumed either raw garlic, powdered garlic, aged garlic extract or a placebo.

The results were anything but impressive.

“No one’s cholesterol went down,” Gardner said. “There was no difference between any of the groups.”

Garlic’s reputation also gets more complicated with some of the bolder claims circulating online.

“You’ll hear people say garlic prevents cancer, but when you look at the strongest studies — the ones that follow people over time — that protective effect largely disappears,” Brecka said. 

And then there’s the question of the brain. While some fans report cognitive benefits, Asprey said he has observed the opposite.

“When I was tracking my brain on an EEG, I noticed garlic consistently dropped my alpha waves,” he said. “Alpha waves are associated with focus, calm, and mental clarity. High-dose garlic and onion on a regular basis creates cognitive drag.”

There can be other downsides, too. Shapiro noted that large amounts of raw garlic can cause heartburn, bloating and gas — “not to mention bad breath and body odor.”

“Garlic also has natural blood-thinning properties, so high doses or concentrated supplements can increase bleeding risk, especially for people on blood thinners,” she said. 

So, is garlic really the ultimate biohack?

“Garlic is not a hack,” Brecka said. “What garlic does is give your body an input it already recognizes and knows how to use.”

To get the most out of it, he recommends crushing or chopping the bulb and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. You can consume it that way or cook with it.

Aged garlic supplements are another option. In clinical trials, doses have typically ranged from 600 to 900 milligrams a day of standardized garlic powder, or about 1.2 to 2.4 grams a day of aged garlic extract.

As for garlic and honey? “There is not a lot of research,” Brecka said. “Enjoy those as food. But if your goal is your blood pressure and your heart, go with raw-crushed-and-rested, or a quality aged garlic extract.”

And, of course, temper your expectations — and focus on the basics of a healthy lifestyle.

“Garlic is not going to save you from a garbage diet, no sleep and a body that never moves,” Brecka said. “The fundamentals are always the most important to nail.”

Brandao agrees. 

“Garlic and honey is just one part of my routine,” he said. “I combine it with exercise, good nutrition, skin care, red light therapy, stress management, good sleep, positive thinking and gratitude. All these habits together help me stay youthful and full of energy.”