It is a real problem for garlic lovers, especially Greeks – while the pungent ingredient adds a kick to many otherwise bland dishes, it is also known to cause bad breath.
But now, scientists have discovered that eating yoghurt is the best way to get rid of the lingering odour.
The protein in whole-milk plain yoghurt neutralises the garlic smell and counteracts the sulphur-based compounds that cause it.
The scientists behind the study, published in the scientific journal Molecules, found that yoghurt was most effective in clearing “garlic breath” if it was eaten soon after a meal containing garlic.
Dr. Sheryl Barringer, a senior study author and professor of food science and technology at Ohio State University in the United States, has investigated other foods to explore whether they can lead to fresher breath.
Lettuce, apples, milk and mint have all been shown to combat garlic breath.
‘Breath deodoriser’
Dr Barringer and Manpreet Kaur, a study's first author and a PhD student in Dr Barringer’s laboratory, placed equal amounts of raw garlic in glass bottles – ensuring the cluster of offending sulphur-based volatiles were released in concentrations the human nose would detect.
They used the analytical tool of mass spectrometry to measure the levels of the volatile molecules in gaseous form, which were present both before and after each treatment.
The researchers found that yoghurt alone reduced nearly all (99 per cent) of the major, odour-producing raw garlic volatiles.
Fat, water and protein components of yoghurt were tested separately and also had a deodorising effect on the raw garlic, with fat and protein performing better than water. A higher butter fat was more effective in cleansing the odour.
The proteins studied included whey, casein and milk proteins that were effective at deodorising garlic.
However, a casein micelle-whey protein complex was found to perform the best.
“High protein is a very hot thing right now,” Dr Barringer explained. “Generally, people want to eat more protein.
“An unintended side benefit may be a high-protein formulation that could be advertised as a breath deodoriser in addition to its nutritional claims.
“I was more excited about the protein’s effectiveness because consumer advice to eat a high-fat food is not going to go over well.
“We know proteins bind flavour – often that’s considered a negative, especially if a food with high protein has less flavour.
“In this case, it could be a positive.”
Greek yoghurt is the most effective
The researchers additionally tested yoghurt’s deodorising effects on fried garlic but, in the process, discovered that frying the garlic significantly reduces most of its odour-causing volatile compounds anyway.
Dr. Barringer said that the study set a good basis to explore how different proteins could be used to create a product to eradicate garlic breath but that in the meantime, Greek yoghurt, with its higher protein value than whole milk plain yoghurt, could be the most effective food to use to freshen breath.
She added that consuming yoghurts immediately after eating garlic is important and even flavoured yoghurts could work.
“With apples, we have always said to eat them immediately,” said Dr Barringer.
“The same with yoghurt is presumed to be the case: have your garlic and eat the yoghurt right away.”
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