Garlic makes Men Smell Sexier to Women in a Good Way: Scientific Study says...

Will wonders ever cease? Garlic makes a man smell sexier to women in a good way! That odious and pungent smelling root, which gives us all a lousy breath is sexy to women? Yes, indeed!


But it seems like scientific study can claim garlic improves the male body odor. A study was undertaken in 2015 by a team of researchers from the University of Stirling, Scotland and Charles University, the Czech Republic, headed by Ethologist Jitka Fialová of Charles University. In this study, during Experiment No. 1, 42 men were asked to eat one or two garlic cloves, 500-milligram garlic capsules or no garlic. The volunteers were made to wear sweatpads in their armpits for 12 hours afterward to collect body odor. These men were then asked to stay off garlic and go on a cheese sandwich diet. Again, sweat pads from armpits were collected. 82 women were asked to sniff the sweat pads and rank them according to their pleasantness, attractiveness, masculinity, and intensity. During this experiment, not much difference was found in the intensity of the body odors in the different sweat pads due to different diets. From the results of Experiment No. 1, it was concluded that the consumption of small amounts of garlic did not have much effect on the body odor.


Also Read: Garlic is a Healthy Food for Male Sexuality: Eat Raw Garlic on Empty Stomach and Boost Your Sex Drive!


The intake of garlic was then doubled for experiment no. 2. The same men volunteers were made to consume at least four cloves or one 1,000-milligram garlic-extract capsule. The above process of collecting sweat in pads in armpits was repeated. This time, the body odor of those men who had consumed garlic in some form or manner were judged to be less masculine and more attractive than those who hadn’t consumed garlic at all. When the body odor was judged as less intense and more pleasant, there was also a lowering of the masculine rating of the odor.


As per the research journal Appetite, in the sexual evolution of man and other animals, body odor played a significant role when females selected mates and when humans formed intimate relationships. In many animals, including humans, diets and food choices determine body odor.


We know that garlic has antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, cardiovascular, anti-cancer and other immunity stimulants. The root also reduces serum cholesterol and lowers hypertension.


Dr. Jitka Fialová believed that it was possible that the consumption of garlic reduced the free oxide levels in the blood of the male volunteers. It was also believed that the antibiotic properties of garlic destroyed the bacteria present on the surface of the armpit skin and thereby reduced the body odor intensity, the masculine odor and improved the pleasantness. Quoting Dr. Fialová, “Women may also use cues in body odor to find a partner who can secure quality food.” In this study, women may have subconsciously perceived the reduction in the intensity of the body odor as a subtle sign of good health.


Also Read: Garlic Helps to Treat Vaginal Infections Caused by Microorganisms or Sexual Intercourse


If we look closer home, as per Ayurveda, common reasons for body odor is improper digestion and skin problems. Garlic assists in ‘pachana’ (eases digestion), ‘asrakut’ (reduces toxins in the blood), ‘kushtahara’ (useful in skin diseases), and ‘hrudya’ (improves blood circulation, reduces cholesterol). However, research in China shows that garlic loses its anti-bacterial properties when boiled in boiling water (100 degree Celsius) for 20 minutes. Therefore, garlic needs to be consumed raw and in reasonable amounts to achieve the above benefits. Read More: Garlic as Medicinal Herb: Used in Ayurveda for Thousands of Years


So, this study does throw light to an interesting observation. Our ancestors knew the medicinal properties of garlic, which modern science also concurs. That regular consumption of raw garlic reduces many ailments, improves the functioning of various body systems, makes the body healthy, which indirectly results in a reduction of body odor intensity, making the body odor more pleasant.


However, there was a limitation in the above study. The number of male volunteers who participated in the study were too less to make the result of the research statistically significant. Not that one discounts the multitude of benefits of garlic, but there needs to be a study where the sample is large and ethnically diverse enough to provide a conclusive result.


Also, it is quite likely the above style of the experiment will throw similar results regarding women’s body odor intensity too.