Is garlic the ultimate biohack?…
Edson Brandao’s morning ritual shouldn’t be for the faint of coronary 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.”
Fitness influencer Edson Brandao. Courtesy of Edson Brandao
Fitness influencer Edson Brandao is pictured on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Courtesy of Edson Brandao
Brandao began the ritual a few years in the past after a tough period marked by depression, weight gain and indicators of getting older.
“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 started paying nearer consideration to his health, garlic and honey grew to become half 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 a component of a a lot larger obsession taking maintain online. Across social media, biohackers, longevity lovers and wellness warriors are making one of the world’s oldest natural remedies stylish again.
“Chopped up garlic has worked better than any supplement I have tried,” one Reddit person 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 3rd went to far as to crown it the “ultimate biohack.”
Like Brandao, some combine 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 girl proclaimed on Instagram, while another claimed it’s “one of the most potent natural antibiotics in the world.”
A garlic bulb and garlic oil are pictured on a sack and picket desk on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. (473984122) NARONG JHANWATTANA – stock.adobe.com
The deeper you enterprise into this nook of the web, the longer the record of supposed advantages will get. Fans say garlic can do all the things from decrease ldl cholesterol, detox parasites, assist coronary heart health and improve insulin sensitivity to clear pimples, remove mind fog and even remedy a cold within 24 hours.
For those who can’t abdomen a clove, there’s always the supplement aisle. Aged garlic capsules and extracts are steadily pitched online as a method to get many of the same supposed perks without the strong scent or taste.
But is there evidence to back up the hype?
For all the wild claims circulating online, garlic does have respectable research behind it — for some issues, including coronary heart health.
Gary Brecka, a biohacker who hosts “The Ultimate Human Podcast” on optimizing health, highlighted blood pressure in explicit.
Gary Brecka attends healf.HX26 Served by smoov at The Store Studios, 180 Strand on Sunday, June 21, 2026, in London, England. (Getty Images Europe) Getty Images for smoov
“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 heart specialist and founder of the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity, steadily recommends aged garlic extract dietary supplements to sufferers “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 advantages 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 might give the immune system a enhance.
“Studies show garlic has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic properties,” said Dave Asprey, a best-selling creator, longevity skilled and creator of the biohacking motion. “It’s powerful medicine when you need it.”
Dave Asprey does bicep curls on the “AI Cheat Machine” at Upgrade Labs on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Upgrade Labs was based by Asprey and facilities around “bio hacking” which entails utilizing technology to attempt and develop new techniques for health and fitness. (The Washington Post) The Washington Post via Getty Images
But the science isn’t always clear-cut
“The research has some holes,” Brecka said, noting that many research are short and have everybody on a different kind at a different dose. Some evidence also comes from lab or animal research, which can not translate to people — and even human trials have produced combined outcomes.
Garlic’s purported impact on ldl cholesterol is a case in level.
In 2007, Stanford University nutrition researcher Dr. Christopher Gardner set out to take a look at whether or not garlic may really decrease LDL ldl cholesterol.
His staff carried out the first impartial, long-term, head-to-head comparability of uncooked garlic and garlic dietary supplements. For six months, 200 individuals consumed either uncooked garlic, powdered garlic, aged garlic extract or a placebo.
The outcomes had been something but spectacular.
“No one’s cholesterol went down,” Gardner said. “There was no difference between any of the groups.”
A 3D illustration reveals a blood cell with ldl cholesterol. (Anusorn – stock.adobe.com) Anusorn – stock.adobe.com
Garlic’s popularity also will get more difficult 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 query of the mind. While some followers report cognitive advantages, Asprey said he has noticed the reverse.
“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 could be other downsides, too. Shapiro famous that large quantities of uncooked garlic may cause heartburn, bloating and gasoline — “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 actually 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.”
Fitness influencer Edson Brandao on Saturday, July 25, 2026. Courtesy of Edson Brandao
To get the most out of it, he recommends crushing or chopping the bulb and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. You can eat it that method or cook with it.
Aged garlic dietary supplements are another option. In scientific trials, doses have sometimes 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, mood your expectations — and focus on the fundamentals 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.”
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