Why Do Hunger & Sense of Smell Go Together?

Have you ever been walking down a road one day, pass a bakery overflowing with the smell of warm, freshly baked bread and instantly notice how hungry you are? Ever have the mouth-watering aroma of chopped garlic waft into your bedroom and suddenly you’re dying for dinner to be ready?

It’s pretty clear that there is some sort of connection between your sense of smell and hunger. Have you ever wondered just why that happens? New research shows that the reason behind this could lie at the cellular level.

Researchers are claiming that this connection between smell and hunger is thanks to the endocannabinoid system. This network of neuron receptors can be found in your brain and is responsible for sending messages from cell to cell.

The endocannabinoid system (isn’t that a mouthful! Let’s just call it the ECS) is responsible for several sensations in your body such as anxiety, pain and–above all–eurphoria. While it is already accepted in the scientific field that our bodies boost our sense of smell when we are hungry in order to better find a food source, this new research claims that the ECS is also in control of our food intake by utilizing our sense of smell.

Through their extensive research, scientists have found that, during hunger when your sense of smell is running at max, a feeding mechanism in the endocannabinoid system gets switched on.

When you’re hungry, the ECS, which is connected to the nervous system throughout your body, sends chemicals that activate your sense of smell and any other parts of your brain that are associated with that sense.

That’s the pattern! Hunger ignites the endocannabinoid system which boosts your sense of smell. While it’s both complex and nearly instant, this subconscious bodily response is all thanks to the genius network that makes up your body!

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