How to Get Rid of Garlic Breath

By Susan Fluegel, PhD

Love garlic but hate garlic breath? Don't worry, you are not alone. Right now there are teams of scientists (yes, more than one team) working to help prevent this terrible tragedy from taking place! These brave souls study the foods that can help reduce that garlicky smell.

Garlic contains a high concentration of volatile sulfur compounds. While these compounds have many health benefits they also have a very distinct odor which can cause bad breath and lack of romantic opportunities.

The garlic compounds mainly to blame for stinky breath include allyl mercaptan, diallyl disulfide, methyl mercaptan, and allyl methyl sulfide.

When garlic breath persists for hours after the meal you can blame allyl methyl sulfide which originates in the gut. Unlike other garlic compounds, allyl methyl sulfide is not metabolized very rapidly by the gut and liver so it tends to linger (Suarez et al. 1999).

Got Garlic Breath? Try Milk!

Drinking whole or fat free milk before, during or after a high octane garlic meal can reduce garlic breath.  Hansanugrum and Barringer (2010) found that drinking milk lowered the concentration of garlicky sulfur odor-emitting compounds in the nose and mouth.

Why does milk neutralize garlic breath?

Milk deodorized the sulfur compounds that make garlic stink including diallyl disulfide, allyl methyl disulfide, allyl mercaptan, allyl methyl sulfide, and methyl mercaptan. Whole milk and fat free milk both worked to combat the garlicky smell, however, whole milk worked the best on hydrophobic garlic compounds diallyl disulfide and allyl methyl disulfide because of its fat (fat can dissolve hydrophilic compounds). 

When should the milk be drunk?

For best results drink whole milk before the meal containing garlic. Drinking milk during or after a meal also helps.

Want to know more about the benefits of milk? Check out my website on the health benefits of milk and dairy at MooScience.com.

What else helps prevent garlic breath?

Mint leaves, raw apple and raw lettuce: Several studies found that mint leaves, apple and lettuce significantly decreased garlic breath volatiles in volunteers who had scarfed down garlic (Munch and Barringer 2014, Mirondo and Barringer 2016). Castada et al. 2017 found that the rosmarinic acid found in spearmint, peppermint, and chocolate mint leaves along with worked synergistically with the mint to deodorize garlic volatiles in a sealed bottle.

Raw food worked best but heated apple and lettuce also reduced two smelly garlic compounds, diallyl disulfide and allyl mercaptan. The researchers believed that the foods deodorized the garlic compounds through enzymatic deodorization; a process where volatiles react with phenolic compounds.

Green foods contain large amounts of polyphenolic compounds and their polyphenol oxidases (polyphenoloxidases). The oxidation reaction of polyphenols generates quinone radicals which react with SH-compounds such as methylmercaptan. 

Plain water: According to Hansanugrum and Barringer (2010) plain water helps prevent garlic breath. It decreases the volatility of the more hydophilic or water soluble garlic compounds allyl mercaptan, allyl methyl sulfide, and methyl mercaptan. These compounds can dissolve in water.

Hydrogen peroxide: Hydrogen peroxide used as an oral rinse significantly reduces sulfur gas concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, and dimethylsulfide (Suarez et al. 2000). Brushing the teeth and tongue with hydrogen peroxide will also help reduce sulfur and bacterial odors.

Green tea: Lodhia et al. (2008) reported that both green tea and toothpaste reduced the concentrations of volatile sulfur compounds in the mouth (such as H2S and CH3SH). However, this study was focused on reducing halitosis and did not address lingering food odors. Green tea kills some of the bacteria that cause bad breath and dental caries (cavities) (Sasaki et al. 2004). In another study, Mirondo and Barringer reported that green tea did not deodorize volatile garlic compounds.

Picture: Eggplant may help cut the odor of garlic. Three Chesnok Red garlic bulbs wait next to a helpful eggplant.

Other compounds that may reduce garlic breath include prunes, basil, burdock, eggplants, and some species of mushrooms (Negishi and Negishi 1999; Negishi et al. 2002). The odor of garlic compound, diallyl disulfide, was reduced by cow milk, raw egg, boiled rice, kiwi fruit, spinach, cutting lettuce, parsley, basil, and mushrooms. These foods were tested on garlic compounds in vitro (in a petri dish) so they may not be as effective when consumed.

The fruits and vegetables were not very effective against diallyl disulfide, one of the smellier garlic compounds. These foods reduced diallyl disulfide concentrations by 27-73%. Milk reduced diallyl disulfide concentrates by 95%. Negishi et al. (2002) reported that milk neutralized allium sulfide and disulfide volatiles such as propyl mercaptan, dipropyl sulfide, diallyl sulfide, dipropyl disulfide, and dimethyl disulfide.

How Does Food De-Stinkify Garlic?

Food deodorization of smelly garlic breath occurred through multiple mechanisms. These include chemical and physical interactions between volatile garlic sulfur compounds and different foods, enzymatic degradation of disulfides, and the addition of thiols to polyphenolic food compounds which is catalyzed by polyphenol oxidases or peroxidases.

References:

Areerat Hansanugrum, Sheryl A. Barringer. 2010. Effect of Milk on the Deodorization of Malodorous Breath after Garlic Ingestion. Journal of Food Science 75: C549. Pubmed. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01715.x

Castada HZ, Mirondo R, Sigurdson GT, Giusti MM, Barringer S. Deodorization of garlic odor by spearmint, peppermint, and chocolate mint leaves and rosmarinic acid. LWT 2017;84 160-167 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2017.05.064

Lodhia P, Yaegaki K, Khakbaznejad A, Imai T, Sato T, Tanaka T, Murata T, and Kamoda T. Effect of green tea on volatile sulfur compounds in mouth air. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol. 2008. 54: 89-94. Pubmed. Full text.

Mirondo R and Barringer S. Deodorization of Garlic Breath by Foods, and the Role of Polyphenol Oxidase and Phenolic Compounds. Journal of Food Science, 2016: 81: C2425-C2430. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.13439

Negishi O, Negishi Y. Enzymatic deodorization with raw fruits, vegetables and mushrooms. Food Sci Technol Res 1999;5:176–80.


Negishi O, Negishi Y, Ozawa T. 2002. Effects of food materials on removal of Allium-specific volatile sulfur compounds. J Agric Food Chem 50:3856–61. Pubmed.

Sasaki H, Matsumoto M, Tanaka T, Maeda M, Nakai M, Hamada S, Ooshima T. Antibacterial activity of polyphenol components in oolong tea extract against Streptococcus mutans. Caries Res. 2004;38:2-8. Pubmed.

Suarez FL, Furne JK, Springfield J, Levitt MD. Morning breath odor: influence of treatments on sulfur gases. J Dent Res. 2000;79:1773-7. Pubmed.

Suarez F, Springfield J, Furne J, Levitt M. Differentiation of mouth versus gut as site of origin of odoriferous breath gases after garlic ingestion. Am J Physiol. 1999; 276:G425-30. Pubmed. Full text.