It might sound like the most unlikely of dating tips. But guys, if you want to get the girl, forget the aftershave and try eating garlic instead.

Scientists found the sweat of men who had eaten the bulb smelled more attractive to women.

The researchers suggested that women may have evolved to prefer the type of smell that eating garlic — which is a highly nutritious food — produces in armpit sweat, because it suggests the person is healthy. Garlic has antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal properties and studies have suggested it can help reduce the incidence of colds, and even high blood pressure and some cancers.

Or, it could simply be that the antibacterial action of the garlic makes the armpits smell sweeter by reducing the density of the microbes that cause the nasty odors, the researchers from the University of Stirling in Scotland and Charles University in the Czech Republic said.

“Certainly, breath odor plays a crucial role in most social interactions, but human axillary (armpit) odor is also an important factor in intimate relationships,” the researchers wrote in the journal Appetite.

“Our results indicate that garlic consumption may have positive effects on perceived body odor 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 odors was possibly shaped by means of sexual selection.” For the study, 42 men were asked, in rotation, to eat raw garlic, garlic capsules, or no garlic, and wear pads in their armpits for 12 hours afterwards, to collect body odor. Then, 82 women were asked to sniff the odor samples and judge them on their pleasantness, attractiveness, masculinity and intensity.

The body odor of the men was perceived to be “significantly more attractive and less intense” when they had eaten the garlic in bulb and capsule form than when they (the same men) hadn’t eaten it.

The effect only came into play once the men were eating a substantial amount of garlic, the researchers found.

这听起来绝对不像是什么约会秘诀。但是伙计们，如果你想约哪个妹子，就别擦须后水了，试着吃点大蒜吧！

科学家发现，吃了大蒜的男性汗味对女性更具吸引力。

研究人员表示，吃大蒜（极富营养的食物）的男性腋窝散发出的汗味对女性来讲更迷人，因为这表明男性的身体健康。

大蒜能抗菌、抗病毒，还能抗真菌。研究表明吃大蒜能减少感冒、乃至高血压和某些癌症的患病几率。

苏格兰的斯特林大学和捷克的布拉格查理大学中的研究人员表明，可能是大蒜的抗菌作用减少了腋窝中产生刺鼻气味的细菌的比重，因此腋窝的汗味也就没那么难闻。

研究人员在《食欲》期刊中写道：“当然在大部分社交中，口气的作用都极为重要；但在亲密的关系中，腋窝味道也是重要因素。”

“我们的结果表明，吃大蒜对人类的体味感知（闻到体味后产生的愉悦感）有着正面影响，这或许是出于大蒜对身体的有益影响，比如大蒜的抗氧化作用和杀菌能力。”

“从进化的角度来讲，人类对与饮食有关的体味偏好或许是从性选择进化而来的。”

研究中，42位男性需依次进食生大蒜、大蒜胶囊或不吃大蒜。之后，他们还要在腋窝上垫12个小时的垫子，收集体味。

然后，82位女性需逐一闻嗅这些体味样本，根据愉悦度、吸引度、男性阳刚度和体味的浓重度为依据，进行评判。结果表明，吃了大蒜头和大蒜胶囊的男性的体味要比没吃的（同一人）“更让女性着迷，味道也更轻”。研究人员还发现，这种效果只有在进食大量大蒜后才会产生。

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【须后润肤露】xūhòu rùnfūlù aftershave a scented, astringent lotion for applying to the face after shaving

    【愉悦感】yúyuègǎn hedonicity feeling or bringing pleasure