Garlic May Chase Away Vampires But It Also Attracts Women!

Forget the myths about garlic warding off vampires and embrace a new study that has found that it may actually attract women!

During the study, the researchers gave 42 male participants various amounts of garlic during different phases of the experiment. In the first phase, participants were given 6 grams of garlic while in the second and third they were given 12 grams. During these phases, the men were asked to wear body pads that would collect their body odour.

After each phase, 82 women were given these pads to smell and asked to rate them according to attractiveness. The researchers found that women tended to rate the odours of men who had consumed higher amounts of garlic as more attractive than those who had lower amounts and the control group, which had only eaten bread and cheese.

The researchers suggest one reason for this could be that garlic has a variety of health benefits; it has antioxidants, immunostimulant and can fight cancer. Because of this, the researchers believe that women display sexual selection when rating attractiveness; i.e they are biologically attracted to men who have healthier eating habits and who are therefore healthier and can produce healthy offspring.

The co-author of the study, Craig Roberts commented “As the health benefits of garlic consumption include antioxidant, immunostimulant, cardiovascular bactericidal and anti-cancer effects, it is plausible that human odor preferences have been shaped by sexual selection .From an evolutionary perspective, formation of preferences for diet-associated body odors was possibly shaped by means of sexual selection. Previous research indicates that many animal species use diet-associated cues to select mates in good physical condition.”

Men, what do you think? Is it time to ditch the deo and stock up on garlic cloves instead?