How Smell, Taste & Pheromone-Like Chemicals Control You | Huberman Lab Podcast #25

🌰 Wisdom in a Nutshell

Essential insights distilled from the video.

1. Chemical sensing influences biology, mood, and cognition.
2. Improve vision with near-far viewing and outdoor exposure, and consider lutein for vision loss.
3. Chemical signaling, including pheromones, influences human behavior and biology.
4. Enhancing the sense of smell can improve brain health and memory.
5. Nasal breathing and smelling salts can enhance cognition and alertness.
6. Train your sense of smell to enhance food pleasure and guide eating decisions.
7. Olfactory preferences are inherited and influenced by genes.
8. Taste system guides us towards healthy foods, influenced by diet and sensory experience.
9. Taste perception is influenced by Maillard reaction, texture, smell, and dopamine response.
10. Our sense of smell evaluates our surroundings, conveying signals through chemicals.

📚 Introduction

Our biology and behavior are deeply influenced by our chemical senses, such as smell and taste. These senses play a crucial role in detecting odors, perceiving flavors, and evaluating our environment. In this blog post, we will explore the fascinating world of chemical sensing and its impact on various aspects of our lives, from memory and learning to communication and reproduction. By understanding the science behind our chemical senses, we can unlock their full potential and enhance our well-being.

🔍 Wisdom Unpacked

Delving deeper into the key ideas.

1. Chemical sensing influences biology, mood, and cognition.

Our biology is influenced by chemicals in our environment, which can be detected through our senses like smell, taste, and touch. These chemicals can affect our mood, metabolism, and cognition. The sense of smell, in particular, plays a crucial role in detecting odors and chemicals in our environment. This includes pheromones, which are chemical signals released by humans and other animals to influence the biology of others. Enhancing our sense of smell and taste can improve our cognition and learning. Understanding the neuroscience and biology behind chemical sensing can help us better navigate our environment and improve our overall well-being.

2. Improve vision with near-far viewing and outdoor exposure, and consider lutein for vision loss.

The human visual system is complex and fascinating, with the ability to detect all the colors of the rainbow. However, some animals can detect colors beyond the visible spectrum. Two protocols can help improve vision: near-far viewing, which exercises the accommodation reflex and can offset myopia and near-sidedness, and spending two hours a day outside, which exposes the eyes to sunlight and blue light. Lutein, not lucine, is the molecule that can help offset vision loss as we age.

3. Chemical signaling, including pheromones, influences human behavior and biology.

Research suggests that chemical signaling, including pheromones, plays a significant role in human behavior and biology. This includes the ability to detect and respond to the scent of others, which can impact our reproductive biology and the transmission of diseases. The sense of smell, which is more acute in women than men, is influenced by hormones and can vary depending on the menstrual cycle. The power of chemicals in tears to modulate our internal state is an interesting aspect of interpersonal communication. The existence of a fermonal organ in humans is debated, but there is evidence of chemical signaling between individuals. For example, tears can suppress areas of the brain involved in sexual desire and testosterone in males, and chemical signaling between women can impact the timing of their menstrual cycles.

4. Enhancing the sense of smell can improve brain health and memory.

The sense of smell, or olfaction, is closely tied to memory and is one of the most primitive and ancient senses we have. It plays a crucial role in learning about our environment and creating powerful associations. The ability to smell and taste is a strong indicator of brain health, and the olfactory neurons in our nose are unique in that they constantly regenerate throughout life. Exercise, blood flow, social interactions, and interacting with odorants can increase olfactory neurogenesis. Dopamine, a neuromodulator associated with motivation and drive, also plays a role in establishing new olfactory neurons. Olfactory dysfunction is a common theme in traumatic brain injury, and olfactory training has shown promise for beneficial effects. Enhancing the sense of smell can be done by interacting closely with odors, inhaling more, and focusing on the inhale. Taking an active role in tasting and smelling food and various things can also help.

5. Nasal breathing and smelling salts can enhance cognition and alertness.

Nasal breathing, especially sniffing, has numerous benefits, including enhancing cognition, improving jaw structure, and boosting immune system function. It can also increase alertness and arousal, leading to better focus and learning. Smelling salts, containing ammonia, can also trigger alertness and arousal, but caution is advised as they can damage the olfactory pathway. Certain scents, like peppermint, can also increase attention and arousal. The ability to smell in dreams is possible, and olfactory stimulation can increase arousal and alertness.

6. Train your sense of smell to enhance food pleasure and guide eating decisions.

Training your sense of smell can enhance your ability to distinguish different types of odors and increase your pleasure from food. This can be achieved by eliminating visual and auditory stimuli and focusing only on the scent. This practice can guide your eating and social decisions in alignment with your biology. It doesn't require intense training or long-term practice, but occasional sniffing exercises can have a powerful impact on your relationship with food and your preferences.

7. Olfactory preferences are inherited and influenced by genes.

The perception of smells, like the smell of microwave popcorn, can vary greatly among individuals, with some finding it pleasant and others disgusting. This is due to the presence of a molecule called to acetyl one pyroline, which is also found in white bread and jasmine rice. However, some people associate this molecule with the smell of cat urine. Similarly, the smell of skunk at a distance can be pleasant for some, but a small amount can be noxious. This is because the genes that determine our olfactory sensitivity are inherited, so if you enjoy the musty scent, it says something about the genes expressed in your olfactory neurons. On the other hand, if you find it noxious or have a strong response to microwave popcorn, it indicates a different combination of genes in your olfactory sensory neurons and receptors.

8. Taste system guides us towards healthy foods, influenced by diet and sensory experience.

The taste system, like the olfactory and visual systems, was designed to guide us towards things that are good for us and away from things that are bad for us. It has six senses: sweet, salty, bitter, umami, sour, and fatty, each serving a specific purpose. The taste system can be trained to detect the nuances of different foods and beverages, and it can be influenced by the type of diet. Certain foods can stimulate the gonads, although there is no immediate data to support this. Taste receptors are not just found on the tongue, but also in other cells and tissues, suggesting a possible bridge between the sensory experience of food and the visceral sense within the gut and gonads.

9. Taste perception is influenced by Maillard reaction, texture, smell, and dopamine response.

Our perception of taste is influenced by the Maillard reaction, a non-enzymatic browning reaction that creates a savory taste and is responsible for the umami flavor in cooked foods. This reaction involves the production of a ketone group, which has a tangy, umami-like flavor. The relationship between smell and taste is close, and the combination of odor receptors and taste receptors in the mouth triggers the activation of brain areas associated with taste. Processed foods are designed to extend the shelf life of foods and trigger dopamine response by changing the texture, smell, and taste. These combinations activate brain areas that make you desire more of the food. Our nervous system is tuned to be drawn towards pleasurable or repelled by aversive behaviors, and this push-pull mechanism is evident in the receptors on the tongue and gonads. For example, certain foods and experiences associated with them can evoke a desire to move towards them. An interesting experiment is to invert your sense of sweet and sour, which can be done easily.

10. Our sense of smell evaluates our surroundings, conveying signals through chemicals.

Our sense of smell plays a crucial role in evaluating our surroundings, from the moment we are born until the day we die. We constantly seek out and sense the chemicals that come from other individuals, even subconsciously rubbing ourselves with their chemicals. This behavior is observed in humans and animals alike, with examples like touching our eyes or other parts of our face after shaking hands, or rubbing our scent glands on others. This process conveys a lot of signals, including our hormone status and odors, and is a powerful form of communication. The handshake experiment demonstrates our innate tendency to assess our chemical environment through our sense of smell.

💡 Actionable Wisdom

Transformative tips to apply and remember.

Take a moment each day to engage your senses of smell and taste. Pay attention to the scents around you, savor the flavors of your food, and be mindful of the chemical signals in your environment. By actively using and enhancing your chemical senses, you can improve your memory, cognition, and overall sensory experience.

📽️ Source & Acknowledgment

Link to the source video.

This post summarizes Andrew Huberman's YouTube video titled "How Smell, Taste & Pheromone-Like Chemicals Control You | Huberman Lab Podcast #25". All credit goes to the original creator. Wisdom In a Nutshell aims to provide you with key insights from top self-improvement videos, fostering personal growth. We strongly encourage you to watch the full video for a deeper understanding and to support the creator.