Sense of Smell

Smell has a powerful effect on our emotions explains Rachel Herz in her new book "The Scent of Desire" Published by William Morrow.



Facts

• We can detect more than 10,000 distinct odors with over 20 million sense receptors.
• Smell plays a powerful role in sexual attraction.
• Women prefer the body odor of men whose genes are noticeably different to their own. This assists to promote genetic diversity in species.
• Vanilla is thought to be the most universally favoured scent probably because breast milk contains this similar flavour .
• There are distinct individual and cultural preferences. For example, many asian people find the smell of cheese noxious while british people find wintergreen more unpleasant.
• Losing the sense of smell may be associated with a symptom of depression.
• Depressed people treated with anti depressants report the sense of smell returns.
• Women may have a better sense of smell than men except when menstruating when this ability declines considerably.