Garlic may prevent heart disease but not halitosis

Heart health is a prime concern in the U.S., since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that it costs the nation $316 billion each year. Studies have shown that keeping your teeth clean and your breath fresh may even reduce your risk of cardiac problems. However, a newly released report suggests courting halitosis in the name of better heart health.

Conducted by a trio of researchers from the Emory University School of Medicine, the study found that taking garlic oil may preserve vascular well-being in the event of a heart attack. The key to this effect? None other than hydrogen sulfide, the stinky compound associated with halitosis, garlic and rotten eggs.

The team came to this conclusion after giving laboratory animals doses of diallyl trisulfide, a molecule commonly found in garlic oil. Once the substance had been digested, researchers blocked specific arteries for 45 minutes, simulating the effects of a heart attack.

They found that animals that had been given the bad breath-inducing garlic oil displayed 61 percent less vascular damage, compared to those who'd had none.

Researchers explained that the effect was due to diallyl trisulfide, which emits the funky-smelling hydrogen sulfide when metabolized. They concluded that garlic oil may have a preservative effect on heart health, if not on your breath.

Are you willing to risk pungent oral odor in the name of cardiac well-being? With TheraBreath, you don't have to choose. Our specialty breath freshening products allow you to consume garlic to your heart's content, without the resulting explosion of halitosis.

Keeping your mouth clean may benefit your ticker in another way as well. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, avoiding gum tissue inflammation and periodontal disease may reduce the risk of both heart disease and stroke.