Table of contents:
- Why does the smell of food make us want to eat?
- Hunger makes you more sensitive to the smell of food
- Hunger and the smell of food can make you eat more
When walking and suddenly smell food, many people then feel hungry and want to eat. Smelling food instead of seeing food does sometimes make us feel hungry. What's more, the aromas we smell are the foods we like. Boy, must have refused the urge to eat. But, why does smelling food make us hungry?
Why does the smell of food make us want to eat?
Food is very tempting. Having not seen food, just smelling the aroma alone can make us hungry and make us want to eat again and again. Food sellers also take advantage of this to attract customers. You may have often come across food vendors who deliberately put their kitchens or cook food close to roads that people like to walk. This may be one way to attract on-the-road people to buy their food.
The smell of food can trigger saliva cues to increase activity in the brain in sending information. A 2010 study found that sweet or fatty scents activate brain areas associated with motivation to get these foods. So, don't be surprised if you get hungry immediately and maybe even hungrier when you smell food. The smell of this food is related to the part of the brain that controls food intake.
Hunger makes you more sensitive to the smell of food
When you are hungry, your ability to smell food improves. Your nose is able to smell the slightest smell of food, so you start looking for it and you start getting hungry. This may be a natural instinct from humans. However, the mechanisms by which the brain controls hunger sensations, smells, and food intake are not well understood.
When you are hungry, the brain's mechanism for smelling food increases. This could be due to the endocannabinoid system. Research published in the journal Nature Neuroscience shows that the endocannabinoid system can control food intake by using the sense of smell. Endocannabinoids are chemicals the body makes and functions to send messages between cells. Receptors in the endocannabinoid system are associated with sensations, such as euphoria, anxiety, and pain.
Researchers found that the CB1 cannabinoid receptor in the brain connects the nervous system that processes odors (olfactory bulb) with a higher brain structure associated with smell (olfactory cortex). The sensation of hunger can activate CB1 receptors, then these will activate olfactory bulb and the olfactory cortex. So, this mechanism that occurs in the brain can increase your sensitivity to the smell of food when hungry. Then, this can increase your desire to eat too.
Hunger and the smell of food can make you eat more
Research in the journal Appetite shows that hunger after 24 hours of fasting can improve your sense of smell and make you want to eat more than usual. Not surprisingly, when you are hungry and smell food, you will be hungrier and want to eat right away.
This research is also reinforced by research published by the journal Eating Behaviors in 2003. This research shows that the smell of food can cause a person to overeat. Researchers found that overweight children ate more after smelling food. The strong smell of food when you are really hungry may make your appetite increase greatly and make you eat again and again. In the end, you will gain weight.
