Wednesday, December 9, 2009

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.

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