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Can Garlic Really Make You Smell Bad?
And why brushing your teeth won’t help!
There’s a moment, right after you crush a clove of garlic, when its potent aroma fills the air. Sharp, earthy, and unmistakable, garlic has been celebrated for centuries — not only for its flavor and health benefits but even for its ability to ward off vampires.
But garlic has one major flaw: it lingers. It clings to you. And no matter how many times you brush your teeth, floss, or chew gum, garlic persists.
This had me wondering — what is it about garlic that makes its smell so impossible to escape?
And as I dug deeper into this mystery, I uncovered something even more surprising: garlic’s power goes far beyond bad breath.
Garlic’s Chemical Culprits
When you chop or crush garlic, you aren’t just releasing flavor — you’re setting off a chemical chain reaction. Inside each clove lies a compound called alliin, and when garlic is disrupted, an enzyme called alliinase converts it into allicin.
Here’s the twist: allicin is unstable and quickly breaks down into a group of sulfur…