Garlic vs. Ginger — Health Impact and Nutrition Comparison

Macronutrients and Calories

Both garlic and ginger have similar serving sizes. The serving size of garlic is usually one clove, weighing 3 grams, while for ginger, it is one teaspoon, weighing 2 grams. 

That said, it is important to note that a single serving of garlic or ginger does not provide any significant amounts of nutrients to fill up the daily need. However, it is still important to consider their differences in composition, as both garlic and ginger are commonly added to meals during cooking. 

Garlic and ginger have vastly different macronutrient compositions. As you can see from the graphs below, garlic is more nutrient-dense, consisting of 59% of water, while ginger consists of 79% of water. 

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison

Garlic

3

Protein: 6.36 g

Fats: 0.5 g

Carbs: 33.06 g

Water: 58.58 g

Other: 1.5 g

Ginger

2

Protein: 1.82 g

Fats: 0.75 g

Carbs: 17.77 g

Water: 78.89 g

Other: 0.77 g

Contains more ProteinProtein	+249.5%
Contains more CarbsCarbs	+86%
Contains more OtherOther	+94.8%

Contains more FatsFats	+50%
Contains more WaterWater	+34.7%

Fats

Both foods are very low or devoid of saturated fats and cholesterol.

Even though the levels of fats are extremely low, we can still compare their fat-type compositions. As shown in the graphic below, the fat in garlic is made of mostly polyunsaturated fat, while the most prevalent fat type in ginger is saturated fat. 

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison

Garlic

2

Saturated Fat: Sat. Fat 0.089 g

Monounsaturated Fat: Mono. Fat 0.011 g

Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.249 g

Ginger

1

Saturated Fat: Sat. Fat 0.203 g

Monounsaturated Fat: Mono. Fat 0.154 g

Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.154 g

Contains less Sat. FatSaturated Fat	-56.2%
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat	+61.7%

Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated Fat

+1300%

 

Vitamins

While comparing the vitamin compositions of garlic and ginger, it is evident that garlic is the winner in this category. 

Garlic contains around 8 times more vitamin B6 and vitamin B1, 6 times more vitamin C, and 3 times more vitamin B5, although a single serving only contains negligible amounts of these vitamins. 

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Garlic

7

Ginger

3

Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C	+524%
Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A	+∞%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1	+700%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2	+223.5%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5	+193.6%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+671.9%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K	+1600%

Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E	+225%
Contains more FolateFolate	+266.7%
Contains more CholineCholine	+24.1%

~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg

~equal in Vitamin B3 ~0.75mg

~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg

Minerals

Garlic is also the winner in this category. 

Garlic contains 7 times more manganese, 20 times more selenium, as well as more calcium, iron, copper, and phosphorus; however, a single serving contains only negligible amounts of these minerals. 

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Garlic

7

Ginger

2

Contains more CalciumCalcium	+1031.3%
Contains more IronIron	+183.3%
Contains more CopperCopper	+32.3%
Contains more ZincZinc	+241.2%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus	+350%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+630.1%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium	+1928.6%

Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium	+72%
Contains less SodiumSodium	-23.5%

~equal in Potassium ~415mg

Glycemic index

The glycemic index is a rating system used for foods containing carbohydrates. As both garlic and ginger contain very few carbohydrates, their glycemic index is low, which means their consumption has minimal effect on blood sugar levels. 

Acidity

One way to understand the acidity of foods is through their potential renal acid load (PRAL) value, which shows how much acid or base the given food produces inside the organism. 

Based on our calculations, the PRAL values of ginger and garlic are -7.9 and -2.6, respectively, which means that ginger has a greater potential to alkalize the body.

Cardiovascular Health

Section reviewed by cardiologist Astghik Grigoryan

Garlic is known to be beneficial for cardiovascular diseases. Studies suggest that garlic extract helps lower blood pressure and may be used as a hypertension treatment (12).

Garlic also has antilipidemic and antithrombotic effects (13, 14, 15).

Ginger is also known to have cardioprotective properties. It has anti-hypertensive, anti-hyperlipidemia, and anti-platelet effects (16).

Compared to garlic, and in addition to these cardiovascular effects, it has been shown that ginger may reduce abnormalities in diabetic cardiomyopathic patients (17). Moreover, ginger acts as a cardiotonic that increases the efficiency of heart contraction and improves blood flow throughout the body (16).

Cancer

Studies showed that garlic has an anti-tumor effect primarily attributed to its bioactive compounds (18, 19). However, heating destroys the active compound in garlic, which is responsible for its anti-cancer properties (20).

In the "Iowa Women's Health Study," garlic was the only food out of 127 food items that showed a significant association with decreased colon cancer risk (21).

Gingerol, an active ingredient found in ginger, also inhibited the growth of human colorectal cancer cells (22).

Gingerol showed to inhibit skin tumor promotion (23). Meanwhile, a study mentioned the importance of considering the application of garlic in the chemoprevention of skin cancer (24).

Antioxidant Effect

Antioxidants are scavengers of free radicals found in the body that protect the body from cell damage. 

Both ginger and garlic have antioxidant effects. However, ginger was found to have the highest antioxidant potency, followed by dry garlic and fresh garlic (25). The antioxidant capacity was comparable to that of vitamin C.

Diabetes

A study showed that ginger and garlic are insulinotropic rather than hypoglycemic and that the anti-diabetic effects of ginger are much higher than those of garlic (26). 

This study also suggests that higher anti-diabetic effects may be obtained when consuming a normal diet instead of a high-fat diet.

On the other hand, the active ingredient in garlic may be beneficial in treating erectile dysfunction in diabetic patients (27).

Gastrointestinal Tract

Section reviewed by gastroenterologist Arpi Gasparyan

Ginger has antiemetic effects. It has implications for treating nausea and vomiting due to pregnancy and chemotherapy (28).

Meanwhile, garlic consumption is viewed as a possible cause of gastrointestinal adverse effects and mild nausea (29).

Hair Loss

A study showed that garlic is a fast, cheap, and efficient topical treatment for a type of hair loss called alopecia areata (30). Moreover, the study mentioned that this treatment has no side effects.

A lot of shampoos containing ginger extracts are being produced nowadays. These shampoos claim to induce hair growth and stop hair loss. However, scientific evidence revealed that 6-gingerol, an active compound found in ginger, can suppress human hair shaft elongation (31).     

Allergy

The topical application of raw garlic may be associated with adverse effects (32). The most common adverse effects include burns, contact dermatitis, and asthma, although they are rare (32, 33). 

On the other hand, ginger has been shown to suppress symptoms of rhinitis due to its anti-inflammatory and antiallergic properties (34).