There is a scientist, Sheryl Barringer, a professor in the Department of Food Science at Ohio University, who has devoted most of her studies and published most of her work to understanding one thing: how to combat bad breath Garlic. And over the years, she has managed to find increasingly effective solutions. If Silvio Berlusconi were still alive, he would certainly nominate it for the Nobel, given his absolute aversion to garlic, which he never welcomed on his table and always forbade his colleagues to eat it.
Rosemary and thyme with apple (consume immediately)
There are three studies published by Barringer between 2016 and the present with his students, experimenting with garlic halitosis remedies considered increasingly effective. In the first study, the acid in apples greatly reduced the unpleasant odor of the breath after eating dishes containing raw or cooked garlic, which, however, had to be consumed immediately after the dish containing garlic . In the second study, the same effect was achieved by using “mint, oregano, rosemary and thyme, dried and fresh” in subsequent dishes. The latest study identifies Greek yogurt as the perfect remedy for “deodorizing” freshly consumed garlic, thanks to the mixture of acids and proteins it contains that are able to almost cancel out the unpleasant effects of raw garlic ( less effective on cooked garlic). , always on condition of eating it immediately after consuming the first.
A very valuable vegetable for health, but with harmful effects on breath
According to Barringer, garlic is truly valuable for human health. In the preface to her latest study, the scientist explains that “garlic has been commonly consumed as food and medicine throughout the world since ancient times. It produces improvements in culinary, therapeutic and medicinal areas. Some research shows that garlic lowers cholesterol and blood sugar (Thomson vd., 2006) and acts as an anti-aging agent, improving memory (Kim vd., 2013). It is a good source of several vitamins and minerals, it also helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol and reduces the risk of cancer (Block vd., 1992; Yeh ve Liu, 2001)”. Beneficial vegetable, but with this defect which is not secondary: “Regardless of its beneficial effects”, he explains to Barringer, “the consumption of garlic ends up producing a strong and persistent odor, which can remain in the breath for up to 24 hours. after consumption. High levels of volatile sulfur compounds are responsible for the characteristic odor and taste. The formation of garlic's characteristic flavor is the result of various biochemical reactions that produce volatile organosulfur compounds and non-volatile amino acids.
The miracle
In the new study, it was found for the first time that most of garlic's bad odors, especially sulfurous ones, are significantly reduced by up to three-quarters by frying the vegetable. Then the experiment was carried out in the laboratory with Greek yogurt (which contains more protein than classic) and the result was remarkable: “The addition of yogurt significantly reduced the concentration of almost all volatile compounds both in raw garlic and in fried garlic. A. Yogurt produced a greater percentage reduction in raw garlic than fried garlic. The bad smell is reduced by 99% in raw garlic and by 82 to 94% in fried garlic because “yogurt interacts with the sulfur volatiles in garlic, decreasing their concentration”, and those who win the battle The final counter to the smell were the acids and proteins contained in the Greek yogurt.
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