Unlocking the Secrets of your Sense of Smell: Part 1

Who among us cannot recall the smell of freshly-baked bread at dinner, the aroma of freshly-ground coffee in the morning, the heady scent of lilacs in the spring or the mouth-watering aroma of baked apples in the fall? Interestingly, while most of us can recall these scents, quite often we also associate distinct memories with them as well.

In the course of a day each of us will take over twenty thousand breaths, inhale over 438 cubic feet of air and take in countless billions of odorant molecules. Yet surprisingly, few of us will take notice of more than a mere handful of various scents. Because we are constantly surrounded by swirls of aromas that enter and emanate from our bodies, we become desensitized to their various scents.

Whether or not we are aware of them, these odours have a significant impact on our physical and emotional well-being.

• Did you know that your sense of smell is not only one of the first senses that you use as a newborn, but that it is the only one of your five senses that was fully mature at the moment of your birth?
• Can the scent of peppermint help you to stay awake?
• Does your hair colour affect the way you smell?
• Did you know that most of the flavour that you “taste” actually comes from your sense of smell?
• Did you know that your nose can help you to lose weight while helping your body absorb the maximum nutrients from your diet?
• Do most females have better noses than males?
• Can a loss of smell indicate the onset of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease?
• Did you know that your sense of smell has a stronger link to your memory than any of your five senses?
• Do overweight people have a heightened sensory pleasure of eating?
• Did you know that no two apples smell alike?
• Is there a link between a loss of hearing and certain learning disorders?
• Did you know that, like your eyesight, your sense of smell diminishes as you age, but that you can “exercise” your nose to keep it “young?”
• Was Leonardo da Vinci a perfumist?
• Do people judge us by our scent?

This is the first in a series of 12 articles that explores the awesome power of our sense of smell and how you can harness its power for better health, pleasure and well-being.

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