Garlic is an excellent food choice to aid the health. There are anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral properties within the ingredient. You’ll have a supported immune system while fighting against the likes of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. Your risks of diabetes, heart disease and many more ailments are lessened just by eating this ingredient.
The problem for many is the bad breath. Garlic is extremely pungent, and it has a last effect on the breath when you eat it. It’s normal to be put off the idea of using it in your meals because of the smell.
Even if you’re not eating it, garlic can linger on the hands or in the air. The last thing you want is to put other people off by opting to eat yet more garlic. And studies have shown that the garlic can remain on the breath for if 24 hours!
But you want to get all the healthy benefits, right? Well, the good news is that is perfectly possible. You want to be able to fight against various ailments and keep your immune system supported, right? And we can’t forget the taste benefits to garlic. This ingredient can help boost the aroma of many other ingredients and helps to keep cooking fresh and fun.
It’s time to look for ways to get rid of the garlic breath smell and focus on all the benefits. Here’s a look at an ultimate guide into getting rid of that garlic breath.
It’s Time to Opt for Apples, Lettuce, and Mint
The chances are that you will chew gum to help freshen your breath. If you choose against gum, then you will likely have a breath mint or use some mouth wash to help your needs.
If you don’t use some sort of minty ingredient, now is the time to start doing so. This is one of the best ways to get rid of that garlicky breath. You can even chew mint leaves or add them to your water if you want to balance out the stickiness of the garlic. Yes, really! Mint is one of the best options to freshen your breath: the studies have said so.
Not everyone likes the taste of mint, and that’s perfectly fine. Studies don’t just show mints as the best way to fight against the smell that garlic leaves behind. You can also opt for vegetables like lettuce and apples. Getting them in their raw forms is the best option, especially when it comes to apples.
These three ingredients are great because they are full of active compounds that fight against the pungent compounds found in garlic. Studies have shown that they are most effective because they don’t mask the garlic smells but overpower them instead. They remove the smells from the breath, meaning that you have a lasting fresher breath. That’s what you really want, right?
The apples, lettuces, and mints are full of phenolic compounds. These are antioxidants—and I know you’ve heard all about antioxidants and fighting cancers. What you probably haven’t heard is that antioxidants can help to fight against the reasons for the bad breath.
When garlic breaks down in the body, it causes toxic compounds to appear. These toxic compounds get into the bloodstream, and the bad breath is caused as a side effect. Sure, garlic is good for you but there are certain elements that the body doesn’t believe good. There are reactions in the body that end up being negative. The good news is that these negativities are only against the breath. Your overall health isn’t being affected.
The antioxidants in the fruit and vegetable will help to fight against these toxins. The phenolic compounds will get rid of the toxic compounds within the body, so you are left with a fresher breath.
Studies showed that the raw apples, lettuce, and mint leaves were the best for releasing the good compounds into the body. They helped to reduce the bad breath effect of the garlic by 50 percent!
While mint and apple juice had some effect, they weren’t nearly as impressive. These two drinks had the phenolic compounds removed through the straining process.
There are still studies into how food can help. Some foods have odour neutralising properties. The results of these studies are still unknown, as more research is needed now. The good news is that there are other possibilities out there.
Brush Your Teeth After Eating
One of the options available is to brush your teeth after eating the garlic. If you go after a meal without brushing, you run the risk of some of the garlic getting stuck in the teeth. You may find that some liquid soaks into the mouth and gums, leaving behind some of the garlicky smell. Even eating some fruits and vegetables isn’t going to get rid of this scent completely.
If you brush your teeth after eating, you improve the chances of getting rid of the garlic left behind. You can also help to eliminate acids in the mouth and avoid food build up that leaves being bacteria. There’s a lower risk of developing tooth decay.
Opt for a minty toothpaste. You can even make your own with baking soda and mint leaves crushed together! If you don’t like a minty toothpaste, consider a minty dental floss and mouthwash for afterwards. Remember that the mint will help to get rid of the smell rather than just mask it.
Those who decide to brush their teeth after a meal should follow dentist advice. Don’t brush within the 30 minutes immediately after having a meal. You run the risk of causing tooth decay by doing this, since the body hasn’t produced the saliva to get rid of some of the acids in your mouth.
It’s also worth using a tongue scraper for removing the garlic residue from the tongue. Garlic will get into every crevice that it can, and the tongue is often most forgotten about!
While apple, lettuce, and mint will fight against the garlicky compounds, it is also possible to use food to cover up the scents. These won’t be as effective, but they will help to get rid of the scents temporarily. You’ll just need to make sure you have the foods on hand later in the day when the garlicky breath comes back.
Start by drinking some tea or coffee. Both are full of neutralising elements for most scents. While they don’t neutralise the garlic compounds, they will help to cover up the scents.
Tea is the best, especially if you get a minty type of herbal tea. Green tea is another excellent option due to the polyphenols. Polyphenols in green tea aren’t as good as the antioxidants in apple and lettuce. The studies did consider green tea’s benefits, and the ingredient wasn’t the most effective when it came to covering up garlic breath. However, it is better than nothing at all.
You can drink the tea or coffee while you eat the food with garlic in it. Another option is to cover up the scent afterwards. If you need a cold drink during the summer months, you could also opt for iced green tea.
If you don’t really like drinking tea or coffee, you could opt for chewing coffee beans instead. Some garlic fans have said that the ingredient is perfect for their needs on a temporary basis. You don’t need actually to eat the coffee beans. Treat the beans as like gum, by chewing and spitting them out.
Another option to drink is milk. Studies in 2010 have shown that milk helps to reduce garlic odours in the mouth. The theory is that the fat within the milk is the part that neutralises the compounds from the garlic. This is because the whole milk is so much better than skim milk, which suggests that the fat is the component that you want to get. This explains why cow’s milk is more effective than the likes of almond or coconut milk.
The best way to make the most of the milk benefit is by drinking the milk while you eat the food with the garlic in it. This isn’t always possible—and it doesn’t sound like the nicest of options. You can get some of the benefits by drinking the milk afterwards.
Since yoghurt uses milk to make it, this can also be effective for covering up some of the garlicky scents. Yoghurt helps by removing bacteria and yeast from the body, which helps to remove the problem of bad breath. This will work for any reasons of bad breath. However, it won’t get rid of the toxins that the garlic can cause, which means it doesn’t completely neutralise the effects.
When it comes to eating yoghurts, opt for a natural Greek yoghurt where possible. This will be better for your overall health. Natural yoghurts don’t have the sugars within them that most of the flavoured yoghurts do. That means you’re not at as high of a risk of developing Type II diabetes or large weight gain.
Lemon has also proven to be effective in neutralising garlic odours. This is best eaten directly, rather than putting lemon in some water to drink. Studies have shown that the lemon is most effective when you eat a wedge straight after eating your garlic. This will put some people off directly. It takes a while to get used to the bitterness of a lemon! There is also the downside of acid directly on your teeth. Over time you may find that your teeth can’t handle the extra acid from the lemon, so you have to find other ways to get it into your mouth.
You can also rub your hands with lemon juice to get the odour out of your skin when it comes to cooking and handling the ingredient.It is possible to rub some of the lemon juice in your mouth.If you have cuts or ulcers in your mouth, you may find that the lemon hurts with direct use!
It is possible to get some benefits from drinking lemon water, but studies haven’t shown just how effective this is. Drinking lemon water can help to eliminate the bacteria build-up.
Why is a lemon so effective? Well, lemons are full of properties that kill bacteria. It’s the bacteria in the mouth that cause some of the bad breath, so it makes sense killing off the bacteria will help to freshen up the breath.
If you don’t want to eat raw lemon and aren’t interested in lemon water, you can also opt for chewing on lemon peels. This isn’t as effective because you don’t get the full scent of the lemons but there are some positive effects. Watch out for damage to your teeth when eating the peels!
Some people will mix lemon with mint. These two flavours work extremely well together, and both ingredients are highly effective to help cover up and neutralise the garlicky breath.
There are other herbs and spices that will help on a temporary basis. People have sworn using cinnamon, parsley, cardamom pods, fennel seeds, and even anise seeds to help fight against the scents that garlic leaves behind. Chewing and spitting these out like you would with coffee beans is one of the most effective ways of using them.
If you’re going to use spices, focus more on the turmeric. This is the most powerful herb for getting rid of garlic smells. You don’t just need to eat the turmeric out of the bottle! Mustard is full of this spice, and you can easily add it to food afterwards. You can even add it to some garlic meals while you eat them!
Cold foods are best for removing the smells of garlic. When you have a garlic-filled meal, you have the perfect excuse for ordering dessert. Ice cream can be great because of the milky ingredients used. You’ll get the fat to help get rid of the bacteria that causes some of the smells. But when it’s ice cold, you’re not offering a breeding ground for the garlic scents. Hot foods and drinks cause the breeding ground.
So, why have we suggested tea? Well, it’s the polyphenols within the tea. If you really want to get the best of both worlds, opt for iced tea!
It’s All About Removing the Garlic
Of course, one of the best options is to remove the garlic from your mouth. We’ve already discussed mouthwash and toothpaste to help, but what about a toothpick or WaterPik? These will help you get the compounds out from between the teeth, so the garlic doesn’t have a chance to build and allow the scent to stick around.
You can also use water to help you. Water will help to keep the mouth moist, making it easier to get bacteria and food particles out of the mouth between meals. Dehydration can lead to bad breath, too. You’ll find that garlic breath isn’t as bad as it was before.
Don’t Forget Your Oral Hygiene
Even if you choose not to brush your teeth after eating a meal with garlic, you’ll need to make sure you stick with an oral hygiene routine. This isn’t just good for getting rid of the garlic smells but will be excellent for getting rid of overall smells from the mouth.
A good oral hygiene routine completely removes all the bacteria from the mouth. You’ll also get rid of food build-up and plaque on the teeth.
So, what exactly is a good oral hygiene routine?
Let’s start with the brushing. It’s not just about using a mint toothpaste, but one that also includes some fluoride. The fluoride will help with the removal of the plaque and bacteria from the mouth. Make sure you brush for a full two minutes to get all the bacteria and plaque from your teeth. Leaving any behind can lead to tooth decay.
You should brush your teeth twice a day, and follow that up with flossing. The flossing gets in between the teeth to remove particles from there. The chances are that your toothbrush isn’t getting in between your teeth in the way that dental floss can. This also removes any garlic left behind.
Follow this up with the tongue scraping, which we’ve already mentioned. After this use,mouthwash to get rid of the last bits of food left behind. Gargle the mouthwash at the very back of your throat, which is where a lot of bacteria and smells will collect. An anti-bacterial mouthwash will help to get rid of the compounds that cause the garlic smells.
The Only Way to Prevent Garlic Breath Is to Stop Eating Garlic
Experts state that there is no guaranteed way to get rid of garlic breath. While there are methods to help reduce it, there is nothing right now that will help to get rid of it completely. The only option is to stop eating garlic in your diet.
Without garlic, it can’t break down in the body and cause the release of the pungent compounds. The problem is you must forgo all the health benefits that garlic can offer. Is this something that you really want to do?
It’s going to be a difficult choice for some. This will be even harder for those who naturally have a sticky breath for various reasons, especially for medical reasons. You won’t want to add to that breath problem if you don’t have to.
This is only a choice that you can make. Yes, it is possible to get rid of garlic breath, but you can’t guarantee that it will all completely go. Something that you will need to decide is whether you want to risk some of it for the sake of some health benefits. Onions have similar health benefits without the exact same levels of bad breath after eating.
There are odourless garlic supplements available. These can give you some of the health benefits of garlic without the stinky side effects. Not everyone likes to use them since they’re not as good as the real thing. You also don’t really get the same flavouring to your meals. It’s up to you.
Which will you decide to do? Will you opt for garlic and hope to get rid of the stinky breath? There’s no wrong or right answer. You just must do what is right for you.
What Will You Do to Get Rid of Garlic Breath?
Now it’s left up to you. You have a choice of your next steps to get rid of garlic breath. All I’ve given you are the tools to help.
Giving up garlic is the best way to prevent it, but you’ve got to remember all the health benefits that you get. Do you really want to give up the anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal effects of garlic? I don’t, which is why I choose other ways to eliminate the garlic smells from my breath.
Science has spoken when it comes to the most effective options. Apples, lettuce, and mint tend to be the best options. Try to get them in their raw forms as much as possible. Yes, there are some negatives to apples with the crunching, scraping, and acid, but you can eliminate some of the downsides by eating cheese afterwards! At least you’re getting rid of the garlic breath first.
Tea can help, but it has proven not to be as effective as the fruit, vegetable, and mint. You can also use other spices or herbs.
Whatever you choose to do, make sure you stick to a good oral hygiene routine. This will help to keep other smells out of your mouth. You’ll also improve your overall health with a good oral hygiene routine.
So, what are you going to do? Now it’s all up to you to do the best thing for your health and needs.
