Grapefruit Oil: Enabling Your Sense of Smell to Help You Lose Weight
By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, May 17, 2006, abstracted from “Olfactory stimulation with scent of grapefruit oil affects autonomic nerves, lipolysis and appetite in rats�?in the June 2005 issue of Neuroscience Letters
According to the American Obesity Association, nearly 65% of American adults (127 million) are overweight or obese. This results in 300,000 deaths and $100 billion in healthcare costs each year.(1) With numbers like these, it’s no wonder that 1 in 3 Americans will be dieting and will spend nearly $48 billion on weight loss products this year.(2)
While a majority of dieters consistently seek the “quick fix�?for their weight woes, research has found proven methods for weight loss, including following the Mediterranean Diet(3) and increasing protein intake (4) (which helps regulate hunger hormones5) while also taking supplements such as apple cider vinegar (6) and Relora .(7)
While these proven weight loss methods involve using your sense of taste, research has started to find that using your sense of smell may be another way to help you lose weight.
In the study,(8) researchers exposed rats to either grapefruit oil or a placebo by placing a gauze pad above the animal cage for 15 min three times per week for 6 weeks. Researchers tracked both food intake and the weights of the animals every week for the duration of the experiment.
While researchers found no differences in either food intake or weight at the end of the first two weeks, food intake by the third week became “significantly lower�?in the grapefruit oil group than that of the control group. Also, the body weight of the rats in the grapefruit oil group was “significantly reduced�?from the third week until the end of the study compared to the control group. These results confirm previous research showing that grapefruit oil increases nervous system activity and increases fat-burning.(9)
For the researchers, “we conclude that the smell of grapefruit oil…affects autonomic nerves, increases [fat-burning] and heat production (energy consumption), and reduces appetite and body weight.�?/FONT>
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:[email protected] or visiting his website www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com
Reference:
1 “AOA Fast Facts�?posted on the American Obesity Association Website www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_what2.shtml
2 �?0 Warnings About Diet Products�?posted on http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P72445.asp
3 Trichopoulou A. Mediterranean diet in relation to body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio: the Greek European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study. Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Nov 2005; 82: 935 �?940
4 Layman DK. Dietary Protein and Exercise Have Additive Effects on Body Composition during Weight Loss in Adult Women. J Nutr. 2005 Aug;135(8):1903-10
5 LeJeune MPGM. Ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide 1 concentrations, 24-h satiety, and energy and substrate metabolism during a high-protein diet and measured in a respiration chamber. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 83, No. 1, 89-94
6 Ostman E. Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 Sep;59(9):983-8
7 “Experimental Biology 2006�?posted on the Federation of the American Society of Experimental Biology Website http://www.faseb.org/meetings/eb2006/call/
8 Shen J. Olfactory stimulation with scent of grapefruit oil affects autonomic nerves, lipolysis and appetite in rats. Neuroscience Letter 2006; 380(3): 289-294
9 Y. Gozu, Effects of fragrance inhalation on sympathetic activity in normal adults, Jpn. J. Pharmacol. 90 (2002), pp. 247�?53
From: http://www.herbalremedies.com/sweet-summer.html#1 http://www.HerbalRemedies.com
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