Many studies have told us that garlic is amazing – for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol – but the big bummer is that the garlic dragon breath can last up to 72 HOURS! And brushing your teeth, or gargling with mouthwash does nothing because the smell isn’t coming from your mouth, it’s coming from your digestive tract. The compounds in garlic can also get embedded in your lungs… so “garlic breath” won’t stop until all traces of it leave our body – which can take days.

But there’s good news about wiping out garlic breath, from Ohio State University’s Department of Food Science and Technology. They recommend we immediately follow our garlicky meal with a few bites of raw apple, or plain lettuce leaves. The enzymes from those foods reduce the volatile compounds that are making your breath reek. In fact, you don’t even have to eat a whole apple. Half will do the trick. And according to the study, raw apples and lettuce decreased the concentration of volatiles in breath by 50 percent, or more, within 30 minutes.

They also recommend drinking milk before – or during – a garlicky meal. The Journal of Food Science says the fat in milk neutralizes the sulfur from the garlic. So whole milk will be more effective than skim milk.

Those garlic-breath-killing foods once again are: Raw apple or lettuce leaves, and whole milk with your meal.

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