Feet: Don’t tell my mouth, I can taste garlic too!

As the saying goes: If you don't eat garlic, the flavor will be half gone. Garlic has many benefits for your health, but the only unfriendly thing is that the moment you open your mouth after eating garlic, it will be a "killer". Not only does eating garlic make people "marinated", some netizens with wild imaginations have found that they can also smell garlic by covering their noses and mouths and washing their feet with garlic juice. How does the garlic smell get from the soles of the feet to the mouth? Is there any difference between entering the body from the mouth and from the soles of the feet? How do you remove the garlic smell on your hands after cutting garlic? Today, let's explore it together.

01Why can you “taste” garlic with your feet?

The smell of garlic comes from allicin and its metabolites. Allicin is a protective substance secreted by garlic plants to repel predators. Whole garlic does not contain allicin, so it has almost no garlic smell. But once the garlic is eaten or cut, the alliin in the garlic will immediately produce allicin under the catalysis of enzymes . The longer it is left, the more allicin is produced and the stronger the garlic smell. Therefore, garlic products can be used to repel mosquitoes, provided that you are not fume away.

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The skin is the Great Wall of the body. The tightly packed epithelial cells protect the body from bacteria and other invasions through physical barriers and oil secretion, just like the walls. The cell membrane of epithelial cells is mainly composed of phospholipid bilayers and proteins. Phospholipids are the bricks of the "Great Wall", and carrier proteins are like "passes". Most substances are transported in and out of the cells through the "passes". However, there are also some substances that do not take the usual route, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, which have small molecular weights and can enter and exit through the "brick seams" (the gaps between phospholipid bilayers). This mode of transport in and out of cells is called " free diffusion " only by concentration difference and not through carrier proteins . In addition to small molecules, fat-soluble substances such as alcohol and glycerol can be soluble in phospholipids , so they can also avoid the "passes" and enter cells through free diffusion . This is the principle of moisturizing of skin care products (most skin care products contain glycerol, which is absorbed by the skin to moisturize).

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The chemical name of allicin is diallyl trisulfide, which is an organic substance that is insoluble in water but soluble in oil. Therefore, it can be absorbed by the skin through free diffusion , then enter the capillaries under the skin, and finally reach the whole body through blood circulation. Therefore, we can "taste" garlic even with our feet.

Material transport diagram - allicin enters by free diffusion Source: People's Education Press High School Biology Compulsory Textbook 1

02What is the difference between allicin entering the body through the mouth and through the feet?

Different ways of ingestion will result in different absorption and metabolism pathways of allicin, and different effects on the body. If garlic enters the stomach through the mouth, allicin will be broken down into allyl methyl sulfide (AMS). Compared with allicin, AMS not only has a strong garlic flavor, but also has the characteristics of small molecular weight and strong fat solubility, so it can easily diffuse into the blood through the stomach, and then "marinate" the whole body . In addition, AMS is highly volatile and can evaporate into the air through the pores , so after eating garlic, you will be filled with a "charming smell" from head to toe, and your sweat and exhalation will have garlic smell. This smell can last up to 24 hours, and even brushing your teeth will not help.

AMS, the metabolite of allicin in the body, is the main source of the bad smell after eating garlic

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What if allicin enters from the feet? Although allicin can be absorbed through the skin, the amount absorbed through the skin is very limited compared to the stomach, and most of the allicin will evaporate from the skin. At the same time, without digestion in the stomach, the allicin absorbed by the feet cannot be converted into the more powerful AMS. Therefore, compared with eating raw garlic, soaking with feet produces a lighter taste, a shorter time, and is not easy to produce breath odor . Similarly, alcohol is a fat-soluble and volatile organic matter. The same dose of liquor is used for drinking and foot soaking, and drinking is more likely to make people drunk. Allicin has two-sided effects on the human body. Studies have shown that allicin can not only increase appetite, relieve greasiness, kill bacteria, prevent insects, and resist inflammation, but also play a positive role in improving immunity, lowering blood sugar, protecting cardiovascular, and even preventing and treating tumors. Some oral or intravenous preparations with allicin or alliin as the active ingredient are also approved for antibacterial and anti-infective use. However, the above-mentioned therapeutic effects are based on the research of allicin, and these allicins have been extracted and concentrated. To achieve the same therapeutic effect, you need to eat hundreds of garlic.

Garlic products approved for medical use

Image source: PSM Drug Shield Charity

As for the negative effects of eating garlic, allicin is an irritant that can irritate the skin and mucous membranes to produce a "spicy" feeling, and can also cause uncomfortable symptoms such as hiccups, nausea, diarrhea, and heartburn. In addition, not everyone is suitable for eating garlic. For example, people with diarrhea and gastric ulcers will have their conditions aggravated after eating garlic, and some people may be allergic to garlic.

03How to remove the garlic smell from your hands?

Allicin can penetrate into the skin, so after cutting garlic, the smell of garlic on your hands will always linger. Soaking your feet in garlic juice will make the already smelly feet "worse", and the longer the soaking time, the deeper the penetration. Therefore, you must wash your hands as soon as possible after cutting garlic . In a short period of time, regular hand soap can effectively remove allicin remaining on the skin . However, over time, allicin has already penetrated into the skin. At this time, washing hands can only remove allicin that has not yet penetrated into the skin, and the effect on the part that has already penetrated into the skin is minimal. At this time, you can use the method of covering up the smell.

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Vinegar, sesame oil, lemon juice, orange peel, coffee grounds, toothpaste and other substances have odors. Applying them on your hands or rubbing them can cover the garlic smell. At the same time, the organic acids and other organic substances contained in these substances can dissolve allicin and dissolve allicin that enters the surface of the skin. Tea, celery, mint, spinach, apples, lettuce and other substances contain polyphenols. Phenolic substances can combine with sulfur-containing compounds such as allicin to form substances with larger molecular weights , making allicin and AMS unable to volatilize and penetrate. Practice shows that when these substances are eaten with garlic, they can effectively reduce the production of garlic odor on the body. Therefore, rubbing these substances may reduce the allicin on your hands.

Phenolic substances in lettuce can reduce garlic smell. Image source: Photo Network

References[1] MAO TF, XU R, LI Y, et al. Allicin inhibits the biological activities of cervical cancer cells by suppressing circEIF4G2[J]. Food Science & Nutrition, 2024. DOI:10.1002/fsn3.3935.

[2] Zhang Chengming, Liu Shaopeng, Hu Runhong, et al. Research progress on active ingredients and pharmacological effects of garlic[J]. Shandong Chemical Industry, 2023, 52 (09): 69-71.

[3] Yang Ying, Li Min, Bao Haiyan, et al. Research progress on the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of allicin in protecting cardiovascular system[J]. China Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2023, 48 (13): 3409-3420.

Planning & Editing: Ding Dong

Cover source: Photo Network