Smell is a way to give up unhealthy snacks

Can't resist eating fatty foods? Looking for a way to swap fries for raw vegetables? Just inhale the smell of unhealthy food for more than two minutes and your cravings will disappear.

Dr. Dipayan Biswas of the University of South Florida argues that ambient scent can trigger this response because the brain doesn't necessarily distinguish between the sources of pleasure. "Scent in the air is a great tool for managing unhealthy cravings. Sensory stimulation in the form of scents can be more effective than restrictive rules and can influence healthy choices in adults and children," he explains.

The psychologist conducted a series of experiments. He investigated the relationship between the length of exposure to a scent and whether a person would succumb to temptation. In his tests, he used a small nebulizer that alternately sprayed the scents of unhealthy and healthy foods. He chose the following pairings: pizza and apples, and cookies and strawberries.

People who inhaled the cookie scent for less than half a minute were more likely to eat them. Those exposed to the scent for longer than two minutes lost interest in sweets and chose strawberries instead. The pizza-smelling group experienced similar results – after prolonged exposure to the scent, they preferred an apple.