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Who says garlic is unattractive? According to a new study, men who eat garlic smell better to women in comparison to men who do not eat garlic.

For this study, the research team from the University of Stirling in Scotland and Charles University in the Czech Republic recruited 42 men to examine the effects of eating garlic on attractiveness. The men were randomly instructed to eat raw garlic, garlic capsules or no garlic at all. 82 female participants were then asked to rank the men's pleasantness, attractiveness, masculinity and intensity based on odor samples. The samples were collected after 12 hours of sweat.

The team found that men who ate either raw garlic cloves or garlic capsules had odor that was considered to be more attractive to women than men who did not eat garlic at all.

The researchers noted that the amount of garlic that the men ate influenced their attractiveness level. Men who ate six grams or two cloves of garlic with bread and cheese were not perceived as more attractive than when they just ate bread and cheese. When the amount of garlic was increased to 12 grams or four cloves, however, men who ate garlic smelled more attractive than men who did not eat garlic at all.

"Our results indicate that garlic consumption may have positive effects on the pleasure derived from perceived body odour perhaps due to its health effects," Craig Roberts, Professor of Psychology at the University of Stirling, said reported by MedicalXpress. "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."

He added, "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."

The researchers noted that body odor is not the same as breath odor, especially since the latter can affect whether or not people want to be intimate with one another.