Common sense strikes again! At least, that’s how I see it. The results of two recently released clinical studies seem to show that one doesn’t actually have to eat to satisfy the urge to indulge. The aroma of food or even the fond memory of something yummy can be enough to curb your appetite…
The chefs were right…
Anyone who’s attended culinary school knows how important the sense of smell is to diner satisfaction. Some theories claim that the aroma of food is even more important than its flavour. In fact, many chefs maintain that smelling is responsible for as much as 75 percent of the sensation of ‘tasting’.
So it’s no big surprise that folks at the University of South Florida (USF) say they may have discovered a new way to help curb your appetite when the urge to overeat impends.
Study report Lead Author author Dipayan Biswas, a Marketing Professor at the USF College of Business conducted a series of tests using an inconspicuous nebulizer (vapourizer), that separately gave off the scent of healthy and unhealthy food items. (I.e – Cookies vs. Strawberries, Pizza vs. Apples.)
He found participants exposed to the smell of cookies for less than 30 seconds were more likely to want a Cookie. But those exposed for longer than two minutes didn’t find that cookie desirable, and picked Strawberries instead. He had the same results when the scents of Pizza and Apples were tested.
“Ambient scent can be a powerful tool to resist cravings for indulgent foods,” Biswas concludes. “In fact, subtle sensory stimuli like scents can be more effective in influencing children’s and adults’ food choices than restrictive policies.”
Biswas’s previous research has demonstrated that light and the volume of music in the dining environment impacts food choice. However, this the first study to prove one sense can compensate another.
The mere recollection of a great meal can satisfy…
Expriments on rat brains – very similar in structure to human brains, just much smaller – show that strong memories of a recent meal can help suppress the urge to eat again soon.
Researchers reporting to the Society for Neuroscience say they have have identified cells in the brains of male rats that appear to control future food intake by preserving memories of past meals. The study lends support to the idea of boosting meal memories as a strategy for managing overeating. The hippocampal cells manipulated in this study may help consolidate memory of the previous meal, which could serve as a satiation signal that outlasts appetite-regulating hormones to inform future eating behavior.
By establishing a mechanism by which the hippocampus regulates eating, these findings could help to explain the link between hippocampal dysfunction and obesity.
My take…
I’ve know since I was just a kid that a significant portion of the satisfaction I get from a great meal is associated with the abiding memory of it. And, conversely, I enjoy a special meal that lives in my memory all the more through anticipating the next time I’ll enjoy it as well as its actual consumption.
Nice to know, also, that all those hours I spent hanging out in the kitchen when a holiday Turkey or Ham was roasting were not wasted. Even now, I know that just inhaling the aroma of a Roast as I carve it is enough to moderate my previously ravenous craving for it.
Yes.
When I took over the cooking duties associated with family feast days, I did stop overindulging. I haven’t fallen asleep after dinner from an overdose of Turkey for decades…
CC: Dr. Obvious
~ Maggie J.