Garlic, a versatile and economical food, is the basis of many preparations in traditional recipes. But it has one drawback that makes many think twice before adding it to their menus: the smell, which remains on the lips and mouth, and gives rise to quite unpleasant bad breath.
Now, a team of researchers from Ohio University led by Dr. Sheryl Barringer and Manpreet Kaur has found a remedy for this problem: yogurt. The authors of the study analyzed the ability of this food to neutralize the sulfur components that give raw garlic its characteristic smell, and found that the protein and fat in yogurt were very effective in suppressing it.
According to the conclusions of this work, published in the journal Molecules, yogurt reduces the odor given off by raw garlic by 99%. The effects of the proteins and fats in yogurt were also studied separately and it was observed that they also had a neutralizing power. On the other hand, it was concluded that high-fat yogurts were more suitable for eliminating the bad smell of garlic than low-fat yogurts.
Barringer and Kaur also tested the deodorizing effect of yogurt and its components in fried garlic. In the process, they discovered that frying garlic alone significantly reduces most of the volatile compounds that cause bad odor. The yogurt and its individual ingredients neutralized a lower percentage of volatile compounds in fried garlic compared to raw garlic, but this would be because there were fewer volatiles to trap than were present in raw garlic, the researchers theorized.
These findings are a good basis for future studies looking at a variety of proteins that could become the perfect product for reducing garlic breath. Meanwhile, Barringer predicts that Greek yogurt, with a higher protein content than the plain yogurt used for the study, may be particularly effective for this goal.
Fruit-flavored yogurts can also work. However, to achieve this effect they must be taken right after consuming garlic, like other yogurts or apples, which are also believed to be able to eliminate the smell of this food. “With apples, we have always said to eat them immediately. The same thing is supposed to happen with yogurt: eat the garlic and yogurt immediately,” concludes the researcher.
