Most of us will not eat something that does not entice the senses first. However, at what point does the smell of your food stop enticing your desire to eat? Can we possibly stop overeating by practicing one small tip each time we eat? Scientists are now saying it is possible to control your overeating and satisfy your satiety by doing one easy thing: Smell your food for five minutes before eating.
According to a recent study the above answer seems quite logical.
*The initial odor of food increases the desire to consume it
*The desire to consume the food decreases throughout the meal as the pallet becomes satisfied
*Taking just say five minutes to smell your food before eating it helps to satisfy your satiety, which in turn helps to lower the over consumption of food
Most of us can push ourselves away from the table once we’re full or satisfied. The results of the study provided one significant outcome: Overeating is reduced the longer food aroma is consumed. A 1984 study revealed what is still true today: Satiety occurs more quickly with foods we’re familiar with and have consumed before. Just taking the time to “smell” the food before consuming it triggers your satiety senses and can reduce over eating. However, other things like food variety throughout the meal have an impact on our overall satiety:
“Satiety level can be specific to a food which has been eaten before. This is shown by a decrease in the pleasantness of foods eaten relative to foods which have not been eaten. The aim of the present experiment was to determine whether this specificity still remained after a meal with a very different food in each of four courses. Forty-eight human subjects were given a four-course lunch with either a different food in each course (varied meal), or the same food in each course (plain meal). Energy intake was elevated by 60% in the varied meal primarily because of the increase food consumption in the third and fourth courses. The pleasantness of the taste of foods eaten decreased rapidly, whereas the pleasantness of foods which had not been eaten remained relatively unchanged. The change in pleasantness of a food correlated well with the subsequent intake of that food. Therefore, sensory-specific satiety is still found after eating four different courses in a meal and general satiety does not result. Some selective interactions between different foods were also found. For example, when a savory food was eaten, the pleasantness of (uneaten) savory foods decreased more than that of (uneaten) sweet foods. The converse was found when sweet foods were eaten. It is concluded that sensory-specific satiety and the effect of variety in enhancing food intake can operate throughout a meal with four very different foods, and that there are interactions between foods similar in savoriness or sweetness.”(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6529260)
A more recent case study provided support for this theory, as well. The experiment used the same flavor on food served at the beginning (main course) and end (dessert) of the meal and found “that aroma pleasantness, but not intensity of familiarity, significantly decreased in the test groups vs. the control groups.” Intensity and familiarity had the lesser impact on how much food was consumed. What (supposedly) did make a difference in consumption was how long the food smell was present prior to consumption(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23079143). End result = the longer the smell the less consumed.
The take away from this study can be two things: Take your time to enjoy the entire experience of your food consumption. Eat slowly and pace yourself throughout the meal. Small portions, healthier choices and slower eating throughout the meal is extremely important when trying to avoid overeating.
Quick Tips for Wellness: Try taking the time to smell your food before consumption. The results may help control your weight while satisfying your hunger.
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