# Social implications of garlic



## seans_potato_business (Apr 21, 2008)

Has anyone information re: the time required for the social effects of garlic to evanesce for different "doses"?


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## mcnerd (Apr 21, 2008)

Nope.  I just make sure everyone close to me eats the same thing so the aroma cancels out.


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## seans_potato_business (Apr 21, 2008)

mcnerd said:


> Nope.  I just make sure everyone close to me eats the same thing so the aroma cancels out.





Does it work like that or are you all just equally repulsed by each other?


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## GB (Apr 21, 2008)

Every person is different. There is no set time that the effects wear off.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 21, 2008)

DH and I both love the aroma of garlic, so there's no problem for us  Nothing better than a freshly roasted head of garlic and some toasted crusty bread.


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## seans_potato_business (Apr 21, 2008)

GB said:


> Every person is different. There is no set time that the effects wear off.





What might be a safe estimate?


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## GB (Apr 21, 2008)

There really isn't one. It varies from person to person and situation to situation. A person might eat some garlic and not smell from it at all. One week later he might eat it and stink for 2 days. The next week he might eat some and stink for 6 hours.


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## miniman (Apr 21, 2008)

It also depends on how and for how long it is cooked and the variety of garlic eaten (some are milder than others).


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## seans_potato_business (Apr 21, 2008)

Okay, I'll make sure to avoid contact with anyone for at least two days after using garlic (or conversely, wont use garlic unless I wont be in contact with anyone for at least two days... not much garlic for me, then)


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## GB (Apr 21, 2008)

I think you are worrying about it too much Sean. millions of people eat garlic every day. It generally is not an issue. Do not deprive yourself of this wonderful food on the off chance that you might smell like garlic for a little while. 

Eating parsley has been said to help with the smell. Chewing on a coffee bean helps with the odor from your mouth too, but that is kind of unpleasant to do.


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## karenlyn (Apr 21, 2008)

I loved the title of this thread and had to come in and check it out.

I wonder if I'm so steeped in garlic, I don't even notice it on others...  I never really noticed people (including myself and my husband) stinking of garlic after eating it-- just a bit of garlic breath for a few hours.

I notice hardly any stink at all after eating cooked garlic-- but raw is another story.  I avoid putting it in DH's lunch salad dressings because he comes home 6 hours later with stinky garlic breath. hehe.  But don't tell him I said that!


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## auntdot (Apr 21, 2008)

Years ago we made a baked chicken with a kazillion garlic cloves, the recipe the Frugal Gourmet gave out.  And he assured us, from TV, we would not stink even half a tad. So we bought his book and made the stuff on a Sunday. And followed the directions exactly.

It tasted good.

The baked garlic did not seem to be all that harsh, actually it seemed very gentle. Heck, what a great idea.  We gotta try that again, we thought.

Monday was different.

Stinking like garlic may not be a crime, but it doesn't help you when you deal with the public.  On Monday don't think anyone would have wanted to sit next to us at a baseball game. Whether the odor had dissipated by Wednesday we were not at all sure, but I doubt anyone would have shared a pup tent with us.

Have since roasted garlic. And agree there is a definite difference in garlic cloves. 

Just our take on the process.

God bless.


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## pdswife (Apr 21, 2008)

Not if they are covered with chocolate GB!!  Then they are wonderful!


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## GB (Apr 21, 2008)

Well chocolate makes everything wonderful


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## jpmcgrew (Apr 21, 2008)

Eating two or three fresh parsley sprigs after is supposed to help.


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## JillBurgh (Apr 23, 2008)

seans_potato_business said:


> Does it work like that or are you all just equally repulsed by each other?


I don't believe you are equally repulsed. I am repulsed when BF eats a bunch of garlic and I don't (though I love it, the breath effects can be heinous to the un-imbibed). When we both have it, though, we can laugh and be like, "Wow , that had a lot of garlic" and then start making out and not notice it on each other. So I think it cancels out, for sure. But I've had the smell stuck on my fingers for days, so I can only imagine how long it lingers on my breath!


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## GB (Apr 23, 2008)

It usually does not last on the breath very long (longer than a day or so), but the smell can come through your skin for much longer.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 23, 2008)

I've found that rubbing lemon juice on my fingers takes away the garlic odor, as well as shrimp odor after peeling shrimp.


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## GB (Apr 23, 2008)

try rubbing your hands on stainless steel. that will neutralize the odors as well.


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## Barbara L (Apr 23, 2008)

My sister and I ate at our neighbors' house once when we were teenagers.  The spaghetti had so much garlic it was absolutely bitter (I normally love garlic).  Our skin oozed garlic odor for days--no one could stand to be near us!

Barbara


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## Maverick2272 (Apr 23, 2008)

GotGarlic said:


> I've found that rubbing lemon juice on my fingers takes away the garlic odor, as well as shrimp odor after peeling shrimp.



Good tip, thanks!

I use a good body spray like Axe when DW says she can smell it on me, it helps sometimes but not all the time. Sometimes there is just no way around it, and when I think I am going to make something that may lead to garlic smell, well I don't plan it next to or at a social event LOL.
Citrus Burst Listerine also seems to help the breath, but I have heard of the parsley sprigs before as well.


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## luvs (Apr 24, 2008)

i used to worry, too, sean. now i eat garlic often, & love that way better than avoiding garlic. i chew gum. as geebs said, parsley works, as well, from what they say.


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## MexicoKaren (Apr 24, 2008)

MY DH loves garlic and so do I. We eat alot of it and I don't think we stink at all. At least no one has ever said so.


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## Barbara L (Apr 24, 2008)

MexicoKaren said:


> MY DH loves garlic and so do I. We eat alot of it and I don't think we stink at all. At least no one has ever said so.


Were they upwind?   Just teasing.  As someone said, I don't think it affects everyone the same way.  I know we don't usually have a problem.

Barbara


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## Fisher's Mom (Apr 24, 2008)

I just don't eat it or cook with it because I don't like it well enough to live with the lingering smell. I also avoid restaurants that are heavy-handed with the garlic.

This thread is really interesting. I didn't realize that not everyone has lingering garlic breath or the smell on their skin but it makes sense that individual body chemistry would make it different for all of us.


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## Katie H (Apr 24, 2008)

Buck and  I love garlic and we use,  between the two of us, at least  one whole head per week.  Sometimes 2  or more per week.  Never had any problem with garlic breath or garlic smell from our skin.  Love roasted garlic spread on homemade baguette.  Yum.  So nutty and sweet.


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## jpmcgrew (Apr 24, 2008)

I once read some where that if you put a clove of garlic under your feet your whole body will reek of garlic.


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## Maverick2272 (Apr 24, 2008)

I read somewhere that it acts as a 'performance' enhancer for men as long as it is consumed raw. I have no idea if that is urban legend or not, but I consume plenty of it raw and cooked and never had any complaints.
About the smell, that is...


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## Fisher's Mom (Apr 24, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> I read somewhere that it acts as a 'performance' enhancer for men as long as it is consumed raw. I have no idea if that is urban legend or not, but I consume plenty of it raw and cooked and never had any complaints.
> About the smell, that is...


Reeeally! I never knew this but I'm definitely going to file this little tidbit of information away for further consideration!


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## expatgirl (Apr 24, 2008)

Garlic is very good for the cardiovascular system---some of the mouthwashes that are designed to inhibit sulfur compounds (more $, too) seem to help with strong mouth odors. Also, Gillette makes a great deoderant/antiperspirant that goes by the name "Clinical Strength" which is also more expensive the regulars.  But I don't know if you can find these products in the Netherlands or not.  It's active ingredients are aluminum zirconioum trichlorohydrex and anhydrous Gly 20%.


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## GotGarlic (Apr 25, 2008)

It's hard to know sometimes whether your body is giving off an odor. I knew a woman from India many years ago who told me once that most Americans smell like sour milk to her, since she didn't eat dairy products. And when I was in college, there was a guy, also from India, whom I sat next to in a class who had a strong body odor I later realized was curry.


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## GB (Apr 25, 2008)

Very true GG. Most people who smell do not know it. People who reek of garlic could very easily think they do not smell at all. I think this is part of why when everyone eats it the smell cancels out. It isn't really that it does not smell, but more that everyone else smells just as bad so no one notices it.


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## Andy M. (Apr 25, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> I read somewhere that it acts as a 'performance' enhancer for men as long as it is consumed raw. I have no idea if that is urban legend or not, but I consume plenty of it raw and cooked and never had any complaints.
> About the smell, that is...


 

Try eating a handful of raw garlic then go ask your partner if she'd like to test your "enhanced performance".  I suspect you'll be on your own that day.


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## expatgirl (Apr 25, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> Try eating a handful of raw garlic then go ask your partner if she'd like to test your "enhanced performance".  I suspect you'll be on your own that day.




Andy, hope springs eternal-------maybe she  will like eau de aioli (ok, so I've mixed up the languages)


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## MexicoKaren (Apr 25, 2008)

Interesting you should say that, GotGarlic - when I was in China last year I met a young woman who had spent a year studying in the US. She said that all Americans smelled like cheese to her, and that she found it really nauseating.


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## expatgirl (Apr 25, 2008)

I had a friend from China and she smelled like fish..........


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## jpmcgrew (Apr 25, 2008)

Too bad the good smelling foods don't do that like vanilla even though I dont eat them I would like to smell like a glazed doughnut.


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## GB (Apr 25, 2008)

My wifes uncle uses vanilla like cologne. He puts a dab behind each ear. Says it drive the women crazy


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## mcnerd (Apr 25, 2008)

MexicoKaren said:


> when I was in China last year I met a young woman who had spent a year studying in the US. She said that all Americans smelled like cheese to her, and that she found it really nauseating.



I had that same experience years ago when returning to the US after many years.  Yah, cheese might have been it, but a really bad cheese and its not in a sweaty sort of way either.  It has to be something about our diet.


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## expatgirl (Apr 27, 2008)

I just read your moniker, mcnerd about supporting bacteria, that is hilarious and so true


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## mcnerd (Apr 27, 2008)

expatgirl...as is yours.


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## expatgirl (Apr 27, 2008)

Thanks, McNerd!


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## buckytom (Apr 28, 2008)

Fisher's Mom said:


> Reeeally! I never knew this but I'm definitely going to file this little tidbit of information away for further consideration!


 

i guess we'll be able to identify mr. f-mom from a long distance, huh? 

hey the chinese think we smell like cheese, and the europeans think we're crackers. ya think there's a connection?

does that make canadians kinda fruity?


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## expatgirl (Apr 28, 2008)

oh, my, Buckytom, how do you get away with it????


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## buckytom (Apr 28, 2008)

because canadians are nice people. and they smell like maple doughnuts.


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## expatgirl (Apr 28, 2008)

ok, I'll take your word for it.......


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## Maverick2272 (Apr 28, 2008)

He's right, LOL. DW hails from Toronto and says there are donut shops on every corner! They just can't seem to make enough of em to keep the populace happy!

If we are cheesey crackers, wait that didn't come out right, if we are the cheese and crackers that should make France pretty happy as they are the whine, er wine, that compliments it!


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