RESEARCH
FOR GREEN APPLES
& BANANA
The aroma of green apples and bananas can be a pleasant and effective ally in the effort to lose weight. With their refreshing and fruity notes, these scents can help reduce appetite and boost metabolism, providing a natural boost to your journey to healthy weight management.
GREEN APPLES & BANANAS
Strengthening the physical effort for weight loss!
HOW THEY WORK
A study conducted by the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation found that overweight people who smelled green apples and bananas when they felt hungry lost more weight than those who did not.*
The olfactory system, responsible for understanding smell, is closely linked to the pleasure and reward centres of the brain. When we smell something pleasant, it can release dopamine – a hormone that gives us sensation – while unpleasant smells can trigger an opposite response and leave us feeling anxious or turned off.
*In 1995, Dr. Alan R. Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Research Foundation in Chicago published a study on so-called smell therapy and weight loss. He asked 3,193 overweight volunteers to inhale various sweet scents three times in each nostril whenever they felt hungry over a six-month period. The findings: the more often the participants used the fragrance inhalers, the more pounds they lost. Those who scored well on a smell test – eating two to four meals a day and feeling bad about overeating – lost almost five pounds a month. People who scored poorly on the smell test – and tended to snack more than five times a day – did not lose weight.
HOW THEY RELATE TO WEIGHT LOSS
Studies have revealed that just the smell of food can significantly reduce our appetite and cravings. One such study published by the Journal of Neurological and Orthopedic Medicine and Surgery showed this by finding that obese patients who smelled green apples before meals lost more weight than those who didn’t, due to the fact that the scent stimulates physiological receptors and makes them feel satisfied with smaller portions.
Studies from the French University of Bourgogne Franche-Comte showed that participants who inhaled banana perfume for 30 seconds before each meal reduced their calorie consumption by an average of 200 calories. The researchers hypothesized that the smell of a banana scent can mislead our minds into believing that we have already consumed more food than is happening.
Apples or bananas will not magically make you lose weight if you are constantly eating more calories than you burn. Smelling apples or bananas can be an effective tool in your weight loss arsenal.
