Raw Apples Help Ward off Garlic Breath, Study Finds

Struggling to get rid of the terrible garlic breath, then consider eating a raw apple.

For centuries garlic has been used for culinary and medicinal purpose. Regardless of the overall diet benefit, garlic causes bad breath. A new study found that apples help fix bad garlic breath quickly. The smelly culprit is sulfur, a chemical known to produce rotten egg smell. The sulfur is then taken up by the bacteria present in the mouth eventually releasing foul-smelling chemical.

But a new U.S. study presents certain natural cures to fight the unpleasant smell. The list includes apples, lemon juice and mint, according to MailOnline Health.  The researchers also found that apart from this even green tea, parsley and spinach also help battle bad garlic breath.

According to the researchers, the unpleasant odor continues to linger in the breath and sweat as a key compound in garlic called allyl methyl sulphide (AMS) is not easily broken down during digestion.

In this study, the participants were made to consume raw garlic. After this the researchers measured the concentration of four bad smelling garlic compounds in the breath samples of the participants. The participants were then asked to eat a variety of food to check the effect of the food items on the garlic odor.

According to study author Professor Sheryl Barringer, Ohio State University, raw apple was more effective in warding off bad garlic breath. As reported in MailOnline, raw apples helped deodorize the enzymes in garlic.

Food items that include a compound called polyphenols are known to be very effective in breaking down notorious compounds in garlic. The best way to get rid of the foul breath is by combining polyphenol-rich foods with garlic, reports Counsel  & Heal.

In a previous study, researchers at the Ohio State University found that drinking 200ml of milk reduces the bad garlic breath by almost 50 percent. When compared to skimmed milk, full-fat-milk gave better results. Milk is effective as it is known to suppress the sulphurous properties of garlic.