The chances are that if you are fond of eating garlic in your food, you have garlic bad breath and are looking for a quick fix for the problem.

Garlic makes the breath smell for obvious reasons. For example, curries of all kinds are a popular

convenience food for many, and they are typically laced with garlic as part of their ingredients. Eating a curry without garlic is almost unthinkable. After eating the curry, the breath smells, and this is called garlic bad breath.

So, what can be done about the problem?

Try drinking a glass of water after eating the curry, and this will help relieve the dry mouth feeling which comes after eating spicy foods. A dry mouth usually has a smelly breath along with it. The two usually go together. But often getting rid of the smell is not that easy, because of where it originates from.

There are herbs you can eat with the meal, such as fresh parsley, but they can be difficult to chew, and parsley is frequently served with curries. Cardamom is also used to help alleviate the problem. But for me, it only masks the odour and does not take it away completely.

The reason the smell of garlic is difficult to get rid of is because once it is digested, its oils are released into the bloodstream and circulated to the lungs where the smell is exhaled for many hours after it has been consumed.

Time alone will get rid of it, and methods of speeding up the process are not totally effective. Mouthwashes and eating something minty will help to alleviate the worst of the smell but that is all they will do.

The best way of coping with garlic bad breath is to have the same meal yourself. It is only people who have not eaten garlic with their food that can smell it on the breath of those who have.

[photo by Sebastian Mary]