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I personally do not enjoy eating garlic, but some people in my family do. I really dislike the smell, and I care for them. I do not want to be rude, but if I can have some help on how to get rid of the smell, that would be great! Thanks!

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    Offer them after dinner mints? Feb 12, 2013 at 6:58
  • Drink coca-cola. But the CO2 burp would stink.
    – Cynthia
    Feb 12, 2013 at 11:11
  • I think given Daniele B's answer this question should be reopened since he shows that this question has answers that fall within the realm of food preparation.
    – Skyler
    Dec 15, 2017 at 1:02
  • In particular: If you make the garlic boil before using it, the high temperature will inibite the production of the smelling agent, and you'll not have this killing smell.
    – Skyler
    Dec 15, 2017 at 1:02

3 Answers 3

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Before answering directly to the quesiotn, a little forword is needed:

The garlic contains allicina (alliisina , glucoside solforato), an enzyme (alliinasi), vitamine A, B1, B2, C and niacina (another vitamin in B complex).

What happens is that there is a serie of chemical reactions when you chew the garlic, with the result of creating allile disolphour, which is what have the typical garlic smell.

The latter substance is very volatile and easily get in solution in liquid and gases.

So.... (this is the interesting part) when you ingest it, the propagate almost everywhere in your body. That's why you can smell it thorugh the organs which eliminate this substance, that is to say lungs, kidney, skin. Hence, in conclusion, when you eat garlic, it is not only a problem of your breath, but your whole body smells of garlic (in fact if you make sport and you sweat, you'll see you smell of garlic).

This said, here are some remedies for the breath:

  • Chew sage leaves or prasley

  • Chew cofee grains

  • Drink a liquorice or mint decoction

  • Chew liquorice stick

  • Chew anice grains

  • Eat slowly a honey spoon

  • Eat slowly an apple

  • Drink slowly a grappa

  • Drink some milk or some yougurt spoon

  • Chew slowly some lemon slices

  • Drink some sodium bicarbonate.

  • last, use mouthwash prepared with cloramine solution at 1%; the clorite will get in contact with your body tissues, mitigating the garlic essential oil effect.

In any case, after a while (maybe hours) the smell will come up again.

So, apart from not eating it, another remedy is in the cooking:

If you make the garlic boil before using it, the high temperature will inibite the production of the smelling agent, and you'll not have this killing smell.

References:

http://www.placidasignora.com/2011/01/14/chi-laglio-mangia-daglio-sa-rimedi-contro-il-puteolare/

http://benessere.atuttonet.it/consigli/rimedi/alito-aglio-rimedi.php

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Sometimes its not just a matter of brushing your teeth to get rid of the smell of garlic. Actually the smell of garlic in your breath even after you have brushed your teeth after eating, it comes from your stomach.

To get rid of the garlic smell, try one of the following methods 1, 2:

  • Try drinking some green tea.
  • Drink lemonade, or eat a lemon. This helps sometimes. Use home made lemonade because store-bought lemonades tend to have very few actual lemons in them.
  • Run a stainless steel teaspoon all around inside your mouth, touching all the skin surfaces, including the entire tongue and the sides! Turn the spoon upside down to get your tongue all the way back!
  • Exercise immediately after eating a meal that contains a lot of garlic. This will speed up the excretion of the garlic and make the body odor less prominent throughout the rest of the day. Be sure to shower and apply antiperspirant or deodorant after exercising.
  • Drink an 8 oz. glass of milk with your meal or eat 6 oz. of yogurt after the meal. The live cultures in yogurt will prevent the bacteria from remaining in your mouth. Milk inhibits the growth of bacteria.
  • Eat an apple, orange, lemon or slice of melon after eating a meal with garlic. The citric acid will keep the mouth moist with saliva, preventing the growth of bacteria that causes bad breath.
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  • Wow! I had no idea! Thanks! I will make sure to politely tell one of my family members to do one of the following after eating a meal with garlic.
    – user15735
    Feb 13, 2013 at 3:34
  • Though it's not just stuff left in your mouth, it's also not coming from your stomach, it's in your bloodstream, and so it ends up in the air you exhale from your lungs - this is even in the Wikipedia article.
    – Cascabel
    Mar 13, 2013 at 6:55
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Not necessarily related, but assuming you're cooking with cloves of garlic, cutting them in half and removing the heart (the little green bit in the middle), and then adding them to whatever recipe significantly cuts down on the smell it gives your breath.

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  • Thank you so much! I will make sure not to do that next time.
    – user15735
    Feb 13, 2013 at 3:32

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