--- title: VIDEO: What Causes Garlic Breath? description: And, no, the answer isn't as simple as just "garlic". canonical: https://time.com/2849572/heres-why-you-get-garlic-breath/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-09T20:10:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:57:25.320Z article:section: Health og:title: VIDEO: What Causes Garlic Breath? og:description: And, no, the answer isn't as simple as just "garlic". og:url: https://time.com/2849572/heres-why-you-get-garlic-breath/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38784613657e56fb/698696d3810bbb4be5c92186/garlic720.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1280 og:image:height: 720 og:image:alt: Garlic Breath og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: VIDEO: What Causes Garlic Breath? twitter:description: And, no, the answer isn't as simple as just "garlic". twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38784613657e56fb/698696d3810bbb4be5c92186/garlic720.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Why You Get Garlic Breath > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=3476073f-dd7b-465a-8555-a835e71ee8e5&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What Causes Garlic Breath? [Watch (HLS stream): What Causes Garlic Breath?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SjeOdV0s.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2014-06-09. From the American Chemical Society_ by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Jun 9, 2014 8:10 PM UTC From the American Chemical Society by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Jun 9, 2014 8:10 PM UTC Garlic tastes good to eat, and it’s good for you — so how does it turn in to such a date-night killer after you’ve consumed it? The folks at the American Chemical Society and chemistry blog [Compound Interest](http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/05/05/what-compounds-cause-garlic-breath-the-chemistry-of-garlic/) have done the research and narrowed it down to four volatile organic compounds. Strangely enough, none of these compounds are present in garlic until it is broken down or chopped, but when garlic’s structure is damaged, enzymes convert the compound Allin to Allicin, which is responsible for the smell. Allin then breaks down in to the four compounds and one of those – Allyl Methyl Sulfide – breaks down much more slowly and as the compound gets in to your bloodstream, the only ways it can excrete are through urine, sweat, or breath. There is a fix however – if you want to mask your garlic breath, your best options are milk, or parsley. ## Transcript [00:05] This week on Reactions, we're talking garlic. And hey, [00:08] it's good for your taste buds and good for your body [00:10] but you gotta wonder, how can something that adds [00:12] such a brilliant flavor to food leave you with such rank [00:15] breath after you eat it? Our buddies over at Compound [00:18] Interest have some answers for us. So sit back, get [00:20] peeling and get ready for some hard chemistry facts [00:22] about garlic. Garlic contains four major volatile organic [00:26] compounds that are responsible for that notorious [00:28] garlic breath. Interestingly enough, none of these [00:31] compounds are present in garlic until it's crushed up [00:33] or chopped. When garlic's structure's damaged, [00:36] enzymes convert the compound Alliin to Allicin which is [00:38] responsible for garlic's distinct smell. Allicin is then [00:41] broken down to the four compounds that were just [00:44] mentioned. Once you take your first bite, the allyl [00:46] methyl sulfide compound is broken down in your body [00:49] much slower than the rest of the gang. So it's mostly [00:51] responsible for the garlic breath. This compound is [00:54] then passed into your bloodstream and organs is [00:56] excreted when you sweat, breathe, and when you have [00:58] to pee. But, hey, if you're worried about garlic breath, [01:01] try eating some parsley or drinking milk. These two [01:03] foods are actually no one to reduce garlic breath. [01:06] There's also more to garlic than its delicious flavor and [01:08] accompanying bad breath. You may have heard [01:10] people tell you that garlic is good for your health. Well, [01:12] they're right. Garlic carries antibacterial properties and [01:15] three come pounds in particular do the dirty work. [01:18] Sulfur- containing organic compounds like these can [01:21] penetrate the cell membranes of bacteria cells and [01:23] combine with certain enzymes or proteins to alter their [01:26] structure, which ultimately damages the cells. Also, [01:29] along with this organosulfer bacterial assassins, allicin [01:32] has similar antibacterial properties. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2849572/heres-why-you-get-garlic-breath/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2849572/heres-why-you-get-garlic-breath/"},"headline":"Here's Why You Get Garlic Breath","datePublished":"2014-06-09T20:10:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T08:57:25.320Z","description":"Scientists have narrowed down the exact chemical reason why your breath reeks after eating the stuff","url":"https://time.com/2849572/heres-why-you-get-garlic-breath/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38784613657e56fb/698696d3810bbb4be5c92186/garlic720.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38784613657e56fb/698696d3810bbb4be5c92186/garlic720.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Garlic Breath","caption":"A complex group of volatile organic compounds give you that distinct garlic breath.","creditText":"American Chemical Society","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2849572/heres-why-you-get-garlic-breath/","name":"Here's Why You Get Garlic Breath"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What Causes Garlic Breath?","description":"From the American Chemical Society","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SjeOdV0s/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-09T19:32:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SjeOdV0s.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/2849572/heres-why-you-get-garlic-breath/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/2849572/heres-why-you-get-garlic-breath/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```