Fragrances that smell like food might make us hungry

How do pleasant scents affect your appetite? In my case, they usually suppress my appetite, because they make me feel good. However, I have a suspicion that fragrances that smell like food might slightly increase my appetite because they remind me of food.

I recently shopped at Bath and Body Works for body sprays, soaps, home fragrances, lotions and other beauty products.

What the trend seems to be the past couple of years is that most of these products now have scents of edible foods such as vanilla, apple, citrus fruits, coconut, cinnamon, melons, tropical fruits, etc.

I personally don't like perfumes that smell like food, but my friend reminded me that "men like to eat." That's another story, though. My main concern here is how these products affect me. They remind my subconscious mind of food, and since smell is stored in the area of the brain related to long-term memory, it has strong connections to emotional memory.

On the other hand, pleasant scents that do not remind me of food, such as lavender, jasmine, rose, sandalwood, pine, aqua essences, oak, and musk, promote my emotional well-being in a way that suppresses hunger.

The effect might not be significant. The factors that influence our weight are far more complex than just smells. It could perhaps be less than 5 percent. But for those of us who have a tendency to gain weight, every little bit counts.

Of course, scents that smell like food are better than no scents, but if I had a choice, I would choose scents that don't remind me to eat.