Study Says Eating Lots of Garlic Makes Men More Desirable to Women

It turns out that garlic, known for its off-putting odor, can actually make men more attractive to women. And yes, there’s a study to prove it.

A 2015 study that is again making its rounds on the internet found that eating lots of garlic can increase men’s desirability among women. Researchers from the University of Stirling and Prague’s Charles University asked 42 men to eat raw garlic, eat garlic capsules, or eat no garlic at all, in rotation. They were then made to wear pads in their armpits for the next 12 hours to collect odor samples.

High garlic consumption can make men more attractive to women.

Eighty-two women were asked to sniff the odor samples and judge their pleasantness, attractiveness, masculinity, and intensity. Results showed that the men who had eaten garlic in bulb and capsule form were “significantly more attractive and less intense” than those who didn’t.

The research was conducted by a team from the University of Stirling and Prague’s Charles University.

The researchers wrote in the journal Appetite, as reported by Telegraph:

“Certainly, breath odour plays a crucial role in most social interactions, but human axillary (armpit) odour is also an important factor in intimate relationships.

“Our results indicate that garlic consumption may have positive effects on perceived body odour hedonicity (the pleasure derived from it), perhaps due to its health effects, for example antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity.

“From an evolutionary perspective, formation of preferences for diet-associated body odours was possibly shaped by means of sexual selection.”

Forty-two men and 82 women participated in the study.

There are previous studies that prove many animal species use-diet associated cues when selecting their mates, and this could be the same for humans.

The study says that armpit odor is a crucial factor in intimate relationships, too.

Research also says that garlic consumption by women can affect the smell of their breast milk, which can cause infants to spend more time feeding.

Indeed, garlic is powerful in more ways than one.