Weight Loss News

The surprising link between smell and weight gain.

It's the sense we take most for granted… the ability to smell. Yet it is this often-overlooked sense that new research suggests is tied closely to hunger and eating.

Well-known researcher Dr. Alan Hirsch of Chicago-based the Small and Taste Institute and Research Foundation, contends that as much as 90 percent of what we call taste is really smell. The noted neurologist and psychiatrist has spent over 25 years working with patients who have lost the sensation of taste and smell as the result of head trauma. As part of this work, Dr. Hirsch observed that a majority of his patients gained between 10 and 20 pounds within months of the trauma. With a sense of smell gone, not only was taste affected, so too was the ability to feel full and satisfied after a meal.

After multiple studies that suggested a link between smell, taste and weight loss, Dr. Hirsch conducted his most recent research on 108 overweight volunteers. Participants were given flavor crystals for both salty and sweet foods and told to use them at every meal, but make no other changes in diet or exercise. Amazingly, participants lost an average 33.6 pounds during the six-month study.

Dr. Hirsch and his colleagues believe that the specific flavors in the crystals (available under the name SprinkleThin™) somehow act on the satiety center of the brain, signaling a feeling of fullness. Feeling full sooner is an easy way to control portion size, which along with regular exercise, can bring significant and lasting weight loss.

To put the theory to the test, Dr. Hirsch has some suggestions. Begin by sniffing your food well before you start eating. Chewing longer also helps to release more of the smell of the food. As smell and taste are so closely connected, this simple technique may help you work with your body to control the amount you eat, and begin loosing weight.