Garlic Breath - © Beach Denture Clinic

A New, Scientific Cure For Garlic Breath

We’ve all heard of at least some of the old wives’ tales offering cures for Garlic Breath. Most of them don’t work worth a darn, if at all. Now, though, Science has come through with what might just be the last word on the ages old subject. It’s easy, inexpensive and even tastes good…

Garlic Breath Apple - © learntogetridof comThe best way to eliminate Garlic Breath might just be a bite or two of a beautiful, crispy Apple.
Or some raw Lettuce. Both contain compounds that destroy the stuff in Garlic that stinks…

A number of sources say a cup of tea – particularly the trendy Green variety – can erase the odour of Garlic from your breath. Others tout Lemon Juice, for cleansing both your hands and your breath of Garlic’s lingering notes. Still others nominate Spinach, Basil, Parsley, Milk and Apples.

One cure they all agree upon, though, is Apples. And so does a new report from the Institute of Food Technologists (ITF) published recently in the Journal of Food Science.

The ITF says it’s determined that raw Apples and Lettuce contain compounds that break down the molecules in Garlic that are responsible for Garlic Breath. The latter include diallyl disulfide, allyl mercaptan, allyl methyl disulfide, and allyl methyl sulfide. Mint Leaves, chewed raw, are also cited as effective against those nasty Garlic Allyls, but they do leave behind an odour of their own that some folks might equate with toothpaste ans some patrol officers might suspect is hiding the whiff of alcohol.

The down side – and there’s always a down side – is that none of the certified ‘cures’ for Garlic breath are 100 per cent effective. If you chewed enough Apples, Lettuce or Mint, you might eradicate the allyls completely, But that would, apparently, take a lot of Apples, Lettuce or Mint!

Anyway… Put away the Green Tea and Milk. Eschew the Spinach and Parsley. But don’t totally discount the Basil, which is a member of the greater botanical Mint Family…

~ Maggie J.