Why Do Italians Smell Like Garlic???

We have all seen this or that regarding Bill Gates wanting to introduce ticks and Google wanting to release mosquitoes. I am here to tell you that during all this “gloom and doom, they’re trying to kill us”, that there is hope. Italians eat a lot of garlic. Say what you will, as I am 1/4 Italian, myself, I grow my own garlic, and in my culinary opinion, there is no such thing as “too much garlic.” That is almost as heretical as “this is too chocolatey.” So, why all the Nonna blather?

Garlic has an active ingredient called allicin. Allicin is an unstable, organosulfur compound with the chemical formula C6​H10​OS2​ . It is chemically classified as a thiosulfinate (specifically diallyl thiosulfinate), characterized by the functional group R-S(O)-S-R. This yellowish, oily liquid is not naturally present in intact garlic but is produced enzymatically when the plant tissue is damaged. The enzyme alliinase converts the precursor alliin (S-allylcysteine sulfoxide) into allicin, which is responsible for garlic’s distinctive pungent aroma and antimicrobial properties.

Biosynthetic Mechanism

Allicin is not stored in intact garlic cloves. It is produced instantaneously via a defense mechanism when tissue is damaged (chopped, crushed, or chewed):

1. Compartmentalization: In intact cells, the precursor alliin (S-allyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide) is stored in the cytoplasm, while the enzyme alliinase (alliin lyase, EC 4.4.1.4) is sequestered in vacuoles. 
2. Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Upon cell rupture, alliinase contacts alliin. The enzyme, which relies on pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) as a cofactor, cleaves alliin into 2-propenesulfenic acid (allylsulfenic acid), pyruvate, and ammonium. 
3. Spontaneous Condensation: Two molecules of the highly unstable 2-propenesulfenic acid rapidly condense, losing a water molecule to form allicin. 

2 CH2​=CHCH2​SOH→CH2​=CHCH2​−S(O)−S−CH2​CH=CH2​+H2​O

This reaction is extremely fast, typically completing within 10 to 60 seconds of crushing.

Garlic, for millennia, has been shown to aid problems with blood pressure, digestion, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and the like. Don’t believe me? Plant garlic between your tomatoes, cucumbers, squash. You won’t have aphids, as they are repelled by the sulfur compounds. If you want a Biblical reference, Sirach 38:4, Latin and English: Altissimus creavit de terra medicamenta, et vir prudens non abhorrebit illa. The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them. I really do not have a good explanation why men think they are smarter than God. Is it “greed”? Is it “pride”? I don’t have the answers. I do know, that the human race survived just fine before the advent of pharmaceutical industry. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying scientific advancement is bad, after all, moldy bread gave us penicillin, however, we seem to have lost that ancient wisdom which our grandparents took as standard operating procedure.

So, we are under a perceived threat of a “tick attack” or a “Google-sqito” attack. Defend yourself with natural remedies, then. Eat more garlic. Apply cedar oil to your skin or add it to your moisturizer when you do that. Why? Because ticks and mosquitoes hate that stuff. Burn citronella candles in the house. Hell, for that matter, start breeding opossums. Those wonderful creatures eat over 5,000 ticks a piece, yearly. Government folks here in Colorado want to introduce wolves. Look at the crap show that is! Possums are more beneficial, and they’re nocturnal. That means while your ass is asleep, they’re working to cover it.

Any oil such as the one from garlic, or any other terpenoid, stops you from being subjected to this nonsense. We are Americans. We think outside the box. We are supposed to piss people off, as we are one of the few, if not the LAST Constitutional Republics on the globe. Please, don’t drink the Kool-Aid, think for yourselves, and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, steward your own health, first.

This article is not intended to prescribe anything. It is an actual lesson of what Socrates is credited saying: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”