Why You Should Eat Garlic On A First Date

First dates can be tricky. There are a million things to think about or worry about and a whole lot of pressure to get things right. Of course there are a few suggestions that most people try to follow to minimize the stress. Aim to arrive a few minutes early in case traffic is bad, shower and wear clean clothes, and never order anything with garlic.

All three of these suggestions are fairly obvious. And, at first glance, they address three different problems. Trying to get there a few minutes early almost guarantees you won't be late, which shows your date that you value their time. Showering and wearing clean clothes ensures that you smell good, which will make your date a lot more willing to get in your personal space. And avoiding garlic will keep your breath fresh and, hopefully, increase your chances of getting a kiss goodnight.

But relatively recent research found that tip two and tip three might be more closely related than most people think. And the way they connect could knock tip three out entirely. In 2016 the journal Appetite published a study carried out in the Czech Republic by researchers at Charles University. The researchers stated that while research on garlic breath was widespread, there were few studies on the interaction between garlic and body odor.

To remedy this, the researchers recruited 42 men and split them into two groups. The first group was told to eat garlic cream cheese on their bread every morning for a week, equaling between two and four cloves of garlic each day. Men in the second group were told to eat plain cream cheese. After one week the groups switched. Throughout both weeks all 42 men were required to wear odor-absorbing pads for 12 hours a day.

Once scientists had all of the samples, they asked 82 women to rank the samples which they found most pleasant, masculine, or appealing. In almost every case the women preferred the samples from men who ate large amounts of garlic. The researchers theorize that this is due to garlic's antimicrobial nature. When men eat more garlic, it kills the odor-causing bacteria in their sweat.

If you want to improve your body odor, adding more garlic to your diet might be a great option. This means eating it on your date too. Of course you still want to avoid garlic breath and, for that, HuffPost has you covered. They suggest eating raw apples, raw lettuce, or chewing mint instead of reaching for mouthwash. Why? All three of these foods contain high levels of both phenolic compounds and polyphenol oxidase, both of which help break down the compounds that cause garlic breath.