Do you think smell of food is making you fat?
If you were thinking 'NO' you are in great deal of denial.
To make you feel better I didn't ever thought of this before in this way, however I did come across of some fascinating research which put significantly different light into this subject.
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Working as a nurse I am able to observe among the patients especially with dementia, certain alarming pattern of loosing interest in eating as the result of inhibition of sense of smell. Some conditions are linked together as Parkinson's disease with depression which can cause loss of appetite itself.
All right. So what the scientist were doing?
They had two kind of experimental mice's.
One group of mice's was smell-deficient and ate the same amount of fatty food as mice that retained their sense of smell and ballooned to twice their normal weight.
Second group of mice's with a boosted sense of smell — super-smellers ( I love the name) — got even fatter on a high-fat diet than did mice with normal smell.
Look at them, the picture say million words...
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The findings suggest that the odor of what we eat may play an important role in how the body deals with calories. If you can’t smell your food, you may burn it rather than store it.
It is interesting indeed that mice's who lost sense of smell were slim on high fat diet while the mice's with normal or super-smellers increased the weight nearly twice! The good news is obese mice who lost their sense of smell also lost weight...
This in one way should not surprise at all, because smell is so important in eating; everyone like beautifully smelling food and what is happening as a result, we are eating more.
The research focus on the findings around the hypothalamus as the center of regulation for metabolism, they were looking particularly at the connection between the smell system and region of the brain that regulate metabolism. The mechanism is still unclear and unknown, however this particular research for sure is the first study showing the possibility behind manipulation smell system as can lead to changes in the brain. In one way it is very simple to explain, human brain does not know what is real or not real, so when when smell system detect sent of food the brain start process this as it is literally eating time. It is fascinating to see this great deal of evidence in this research to support the theory that thoughts are things.
On the other hand the research clearly suggest that the odor of what we eat can be an essential turning point in understanding how the human body deals with calories. In one clear sentence if you can't smell food, you are more likely to burn it than store as a fat and increase the body mass.
I must say I am a bit surprise to see this research seeing the day light now, however it is better later than never.
To conclude this research - your smell can play the crucial role in term of weight gain. While using mice's researchers noticed very clear pattern, mice's who lost sense of smell lost weight, while the mouses called as super - smellers gained more weight on the high fat diet than the mice's with normal sense of smell. This research indeed give clear indication between smell and weight gain and make the popular saying that people gain weight by looking at the food is not a matter of a joke now more than less is real thing.
I don't know like you but I definitely enjoyed this research as gave some good and logical explanation to the subject of gaining weight. If you want more details please feel happy to explore the full research in the link below.
http://neurosciencenews.com/olfaction-weight-7027/
This research definitely was a food for thoughts and I hope I am not becoming obese by thinking of eating as well :)
Lots of love
from Margo
