The smell of fruit, when you’re in the middle of a food dilemma, would allow you to make more balanced choices, according to a study.
When your taste buds sway between a chocolate fondant and a 0% fromage blanc, a solution: put a pear under your nose!
We reassure you, it is not a question of sniffing vitamins (as some do with hydrangeas), but to cut short your indulgence. A French study shows it: a smell of fruit puts you back in the “healthy” way, especially at dessert time.
Psychologists at the University of Dijon tested the influence of fruits using a small experiment. They explain it in the magazine Appetite. 115 men and women, who thought they would participate in a study on communication during meals, were divided into two groups. The first was placed in a room that smelled like pear. The second in a room with no particular smell.
Then, in another place, the volunteers chose three dishes from a selection offered on a buffet. For each dish, the choice was possible between a plate composed of fruits and / or vegetables and another without fruits and vegetables. If you scroll down the menu, it gave: as a starter grated carrots or cold meat; as a main dish: Bolognese lasagna or salmon accompanied with vegetable risotto; for dessert: brownie or applesauce.
Verdict: For the first two dishes, the smell of pear had no impact on the choice of the two groups. On the other hand, they were more numerous in the group exposed to the smell of pear to take the compote than in the other group.
For researchers, this is “scientific evidence that an unconscious fruit odor can influence food choices and guide towards fruity desserts”. And if you have a choice of a strawberry tart and a fruit salad, what happens?