How to eat garlic and onions so that your mouth does not smell
If you can’t or don’t want to give up seasoned foods, remember a few simple rules for preventing unpleasant odors.
1. Drink plenty of water with your food
One of the reasons for the persistent smell is the smallest particles of garlic and onions stuck between the teeth, stuck to the tongue or dry mucous membranes. Water will at least partially wash away these sharp-smelling pieces from the oral cavity into the stomach.
2. Eat a salad or an apple
In one research Scientists have found that chewing an apple or a lettuce leaf makes garlic breath much less noticeable. Theoretically, other fresh vegetables and fruits, which are high in water and fiber, will have the same effect. For example, cucumbers or hard pears.
3. Know the measure
The less food you eat with onions and garlic, the less intense the flavor will be.
How to get rid of the smell of garlic and onions from the mouth
If it’s too late to tackle prevention, here are eight time-tested ways to quickly freshen your breath. Use one of them or combine several at once.
1. Rinse your mouth with water
So you can wash the largest particles of onion and garlic from the mouth. However, don’t count on water to get rid of the smell completely. To increase the effect, more serious measures will be required.
2. Brush your teeth
Pieces of garlic or onion may remain between the teeth, in plaque, or under the gum line. Therefore, thoroughly brush your teeth after eating and use dental floss – this can help.
3. Use a brush or tongue scraper
Food debris can get stuck between the taste buds at the back of the tongue. The easiest way to remove white plaque is with a rubber brush on the back of the toothbrush. Or a special tongue scraper – you can buy it at a pharmacy.
4. Rinse your mouth with mouthwash
The ideal option is a mouthwash with a strong smell, such as mint.
If you have a choice of products, look at their composition and stop at the one that has chlorine dioxide on the ingredient list. There are some scientific grounds to assume that liquids with this composition deal with bad breath more effectively than others.
True, we are talking about any unpleasant odors, not only onion and garlic. But this is even a plus in the piggy bank of the station wagon.
5. Eat an apple
Or a hard pear. Or spinach. Or a couple of lettuce leaves. How it works, we have already described above.
6. Chew on mint or parsley leaves
Peppermint has been proven effective in at least one research: volatile compounds contained in its leaves are really able to kill an unpleasant odor. The researchers tested this with garlic, but we can assume that mint works with onions as well.
For the same purpose, you can try chewing parsley. Its ability to interrupt odors has not been seriously studied, but this is the traditional old-fashioned way to deal with unpleasant amber. Worth a try.
Any other strong-smelling foods, such as orange peel, cinnamon stick, fennel or anise seeds, can also be effective.
7. Drink a glass of milk
Milk helps reduce the concentration of sulfur-containing chemicals that are the cause of an unpleasant onion or garlic odor. Fatty milk is more effective than skimmed milk.
In general, according to researchers, the best result is obtained if you drink milk with each piece of food with garlic or onions. This method should be included in the list of preventive measures, but it seemed to us too brutal.
8. Chew some gum
Choose gum with the most intense and bright taste. Some kind of triple supermint is ideal. In addition, chewing gum will not only kill the pungent smell of garlic or onions, but also stimulate the production of saliva, which will help wash away bad-smelling food particles.