Are You Being Led By The Nose? (Manipulation and your sense of smell)

Scentilicious Sensations - Part 2 - of the Mind-Body-Food Connection

Your sense of smell has a powerful role in your Mind-Body Connection.  Stronger than imagery or visualization, a scent can instantly transport you back into a memory or change your emotional state. 

When it comes to food, the smell of something delicious wafting from the kitchen makes your mouth water and your stomach rumble in anticipation.  You become primed to eat and your nose drinks in every nuance.

But all is not what it may seem. At least not anymore.

The art of cooking can blend scents, flavors and textures in ways that make us swoon with delight, giving rise to a multitude of food cultures. But in the modern world of ultra processed foods, a LOT of science has gone into understanding how your sense of smell can be used to manipulate YOU.

You are literally being led by the nose towards the best-smelling products available, even those made with cheap and ultra processed ingredients. And that has consequences for your Mind-Body-Food Connection.

Advanced civilizations were possible because there was a surplus of food, so not everyone had to farm all the time. Advanced civilizations are where cooking for survival changes to cuisine — cooking with awareness, for a purpose other than just to make food edible.

—Linda Civitello, Cuisine and Culture

Something delicious is happening in the kitchen (or it used to be?)

As we did in Eye of the Beholder Part 2 for our Sight-Food Connection, let’s look at how food aromas have changed in our kitchens since the 1970’s.  Back then, the exquisite smell of cooking filled most homes on a daily basis.