Scientists claim drinking a glass of milk can sweeten your "garlic breath"

In research with with raw and cooked cloves of garlic, milk "significantly reduced" levels of the sulphur compounds that give garlic its pungent smell.

For optimum effect, sip the milk as you eat the garlic, the researchers say.

The study found the water and fat in milk deodorises the breath and for optimal effect, you should sip milk as you eat the garlic.

The researchers found mixing milk with garlic in the mouth before swallowing had a higher odour-neutralising effect than drinking milk after eating the garlic in the trial.

The research, from Ohio State University in the US, is published in the Journal of Food Science.