Success Has a Sweet Aroma

More than 30% of American adults age 20 and older are overweight.

Obesity is a serious, chronic disease of epidemic proportions in the United States and is second only to smoking as a risk factor for disease. Obesity increases the risk for a number of other serious and often fatal diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gall bladder conditions, osteoarthritis and some forms of cancer such as colon and breast cancer.

Approximately 300,000 deaths each year are attributed to overweight and obesity, with obesity,overweight and its related diseases costing the American health care system between 40 and l00 billion dollars annually. A recent estimate placed the direct economic costs of obesity and overweight at more than 5.5% of all medical expenditures.

Medical studies have shown that even a modest weight loss of only 10% can significantly reduce obesity related diseases. Yet, despite the fact that over 40% of women and 24% of men in the United States are trying to lose weight, spending over 30 billion dollars annually on weight control products, services and programs, less than 5% are actually successful in achieving long-term weight loss.

In the last decade there has been a 30% increase in the number of overweight Americans, a greater increase than in any past decade.

Obviously the myriad of methods used to treat obesity, often involving complicated eating regimens, dietary restrictions and deprivation and even prescription medication, have been unsuccessful in the long tern and sometimes even dangerous. Even so, Americans continue to fight the war against overweight.

One method that seems promising is the role of olfaction in weight control. Specifically, the inhalation of positive hedonic, or pleasant smelling, scents has been shown to have beneficial effects on appetite and hunger regulation.

This idea stems from everyday observations of how food aromas affect appetite and from critical observations of how patients with acute anosmia, loss of smell, often gain weight. These observations suggest a breakdown in an olfactory satiety feedback mechanism.

Also, there are scientific EEG and brain mapping studies documenting the effects of the inhalation of food scents on brain wave activity. The hunger-satiety cycle is regulated by a variety of interacting factors. Psychological, social, environmental factors, nutrients, metabolic processes, and gastric movement initiate hunger signals.

Eating along with associated sensory processes activate inhibitory signals leading to satiety or feeling full. Because of the inherent delay between the swallowing of food and the digestion of food, a short term signal is required. It is not simply the digestion of food or physical stomach distention that allows the brain to determine a sense of fullness.

Rather, it is a variety of factors which include the aromas of food detected by olfactory receptors that convey messages of how much food has been consumed to the appetite control center of the brain.

Obesity-A Historical Perspective

While it's true that throughout the ages people have been concerned about their weight, the image of what is the ideal weight has changed dramatically. It's only very recently that extreme thinness has been admired and desired.

Dating back to the ancient Greeks, art has depicted the full-figured woman as beautiful. Rubens and Rembrandt both portrayed the full, round woman as the epitome of female beauty. Even today, in parts of the world where food is scarce, a full figure suggests prosperity and beauty.

Concerns about controlling overweight, however, have long existed in societies where food was plentiful. In ancient times herbal preparations were used to control appetite, while the Romans even resorted to the practice of voluntary vomiting after huge meals so they could go back and eat more.

Slimness first became fashionable in Europe in the 18th century. In the 19th century, Victorian women strapped themselves into corsets that reduced their waists by 6 inches, sometimes causing internal damage. Some even resorted to enemas and purgatives to maintain their tiny waists.

History clearly demonstrates that the image of what is considered beautiful can vary from culture to culture and continually changes with the times. What doesn't change, however, is the impact overweight has on one's health.

Obesity and Health -An Epidemic

We face an undeniable crisis.

Obesity is running rampant in our society and is rapidly approaching epidemic proportions. It is much more than just a matter of vanity. Obesity is a serious disease which, according to the Journal of American Medical Association kills an estimated 300,000 Americans per year.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, gall bladder disease and some cancers. Obese individuals also suffer psychological effects and social consequences from widespread prejudice.
The good news is that losing even 10% of your weight can result in significant health improvements. Americans now spend over $30 billion per year on dieting. We also have the greatest number of health clubs and commercial diet programs in the world, as well as hundreds of diet books that are published each year.

With all this effort and expense, one might expect we were headed towards resolving this serious situation. Unfortunately, we are losing the battle of the bulge.
Despite America's obsession with weight loss, according to both the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics and the American Journal of Bariatric Medicine, there has been a 30% increase in the number of overweight Americans in the last decade. Currently, there are more than 60 million overweight Americans, a very significant percentage of the population.

Also, almost 50% of Americans say they are dieting at any given time. There has been some progress made in areas such as overall fat consumption, made evident by supermarket shelves lined with low-fat and fat-free foods, but in the end, most people end up right back where they started... or worse. Obviously, diets are not working.

Eating- One of Life's Pleasures

We live to eat and eat to live. In addition to having profound effects on our health and life span, eating is one of life's great pleasures. Food has always been used for more than just providing fuel for the body.

Even in ancient civilizations, social events and festive occasions centered on food and drink. The only difference is that back then, the food supply was erratic and not always in abundance, so most people did not become obese.

Many of today's most popular diets take the pleasure out of eating. It is almost as if they treat food as a drug, emphasizing eating on precise schedules with inflexible, complicated food combinations. Eventually, people become tired of strict, regimented diets where the constant managing of food and eating consume their life.

Those who have suffered through one failed diet after another understand. You want to be like everyone else. You want to be able to enjoy food and maintain a stable weight. You are suspicious, even skeptical, of new diets that promise success.
ou may even be reluctant to suffer another attempt, afraid you will once again set yourself up for failure.

Cravings - The Root of the Problem

Cravings can often be so strong that they can overpower an individual and become full blown obsessions.

Often, if one does not fulfill their strong desire to eat a specific food, the craving may increase in intensity and frequency. Just thinking about satisfying this craving sets off a "feeding frenzy" of reactions in the body. The heart starts to beat faster, the salivary glands and stomach secretions start flowing, and the pancreas releases insulin.

Insulin causes blood sugar to drop and you feel intense hunger. An overwhelming craving can lead to uncontrollable bingeing. "I just look at food and gain weight! " This statement carries a lot of truth for some people. TV commercials for luscious foods and decadent desserts may add weight to your hips even without your giving in to temptation.

Researchers Judith Rodin, Ph.D., of Yale and William G. Johnson, Ph.D., of the University of Mississippi, have found that, for some people, simply looking at food or even just thinking about food can stimulate their insulin release, which activates fat storage.

This insulin secretion can cause a drop in blood sugar and start the cycle of irresistible cravings and hunger even if your stomach is full.

Emotional vs. Biological Cravings

Food cravings can be either emotional or biological.
A biological craving has physiological origins a nutritional imbalance of some vitamin or mineral, a chemical imbalance of blood sugar, or an imbalance of brain neurotransmitters, most commonly serotonin. A biological craving can be satisfied by the correction of the chemical imbalance that causes it.

An emotional craving, although it may be ameliorated temporarily by eating, is insatiable and keeps coming back as long as the cause of the craving remains unresolved. This sets up a cycle of indulging and then feeling even worse about yourself. Cravings are not a sign of weakness, a character flaw or a lack of willpower.

Cravings can be real physiological needs stemming from chemical imbalances in the body and brain. A biological craving will not just go away. It is not a matter of self-control; it is your body's way of crying out for nutrients to correct a biochemical imbalance. It is a reflection of what your body needs.

Restriction and Deprivation Cause Cravings

Two of the most potent triggers of food cravings are restriction and deprivation.
When you are denied a certain food, such as when on a diet, overpowering cravings can result. Cravings are the most common reason diets fail. Every morning you may start out committed to being "good" and restricting meals, but by evening, food cravings maybe too intense to ignore.

Deprivation and restriction only intensify food cravings. When you have a biological craving and it is not satisfied in some manner, it may intensify and overtake you eventually. This means you may completely lose control and binge.
After failing to stick to a diet or, even more frustrating, after successfully losing weight, most have helplessly watched the pounds pile back on as they ate out of control.

Traditional diets set you up for this because deprivation ultimately results in powerful cravings.

Diets Do Not Work- It's Not Your Fault!

Almost everyone who has dieted can tell their own version of the same sad story.
Although almost everyone who diets initially loses weight, a majority of these people regain most of the lost weight, if not more. Most people cannot successfully achieve significant and lasting weight loss by the daily ritual of self-denial called dieting, because physiological urges beyond their control eventually overpower any willpower.

The will power of the average dieter is generally short lived, perhaps less than 45 days. It is only a matter of time until the body's physiology wins out. Telling an overweight person to eat less is like telling an asthmatic to stop wheezing. It is asking someone to control an unconscious body inaction just by thinking.
Medical research has shown that obesity is not due to a lack of will- power, self-indulgence or laziness. Obesity is a complex medical problem related to chemical imbalances in the brain.

This has a lot to do with why diets just do not work No matter how much you are determined to stick to your next diet and make it work, you are up against a physiological drive that will eventually win out. Diets almost always promote the very thing they are supposed to cure - obesity.

Dieting and deprivation only set you up to fill, and create the endless cycle of deprivation, weight loss, overindulgence and weight regain. In the end, it is all just more of the same thing, a false promise of hope that a temporary diet will be able to overcome the most powerful and fundamental of our survival instincts-hunger.

Behavioral Reinforcement of Food as a Source of Comfort

The association between food and comfort begins in infancy. When a baby cries, the mother nurses the child or gives the baby a bottle.

The baby quickly learns to associate food as a relief of stress and frustration. This association is continually reinforced throughout childhood. For example, a crying child can sometimes be comforted with ice cream or cookies. The foods we were given for comfort as children often are the same comfort foods we turn to as adults, such as ice cream or cookies and milk.

Food is also associated with happy emotion as well as negative ones. Since ancient times, celebrations and festivals centered on food. Happy events from birthdays to weddings are celebrated with food. This behavioral link between food and emotions reinforces the physiological forces driving us to reach for food and overeat in response to stress.

Dealing With Stress

Although everyone experiences stress, anxiety and depression, not everyone habitually turns to food in response to these emotions.

For some people, however, the psychological hunger triggered by stress is so powerful and overwhelming that the impulse to reach for food becomes as essential as breathing. Emotional overeating, this powerful link between food and emotional well being is most marked and frequent in the overweight.

Obese people often tend to be obsessed and preoccupied with food. They reach for food to ease their sadness, relieve stress and compensate for their loneliness. Naturally thin people usually only think about food when they are hungry and do not eat when tense or nervous.

This difference in the way thin and overweight people respond to food is due to a genetically determined serotonin biochemical deficiency and a marked decrease in serotonin levels in response to stress. Biochemically, thin and overweight people respond differently to stress, due to a little known chemical called urocortin. Urocortin is a neuropeptide made in the brain in response to stress.

It causes stress-related psychological changes, one of which is a dramatic decrease in appetite. Differences in urocortin levels may account for why thin people lose their appetite under stress, as opposed to obese people who suffer an increase in appetite.

Metabolic Difference's

There are real biochemical differences between naturally thin people and overweight people in the way they respond to stress.

We all know of the thin person who eats tons of food and pints of ice cream in response to stress and never gains weight. It can be a frustrating thing for other people to watch. When you diet and restrict calories, your body interprets this as starvation, lowers its metabolic rate and burns fewer calories to conserve energy.
In some naturally thin people, when they consume huge quantities of food in order to maintain a set point weight, their metabolism speeds up. They burn off these extra calories rather than store them as fat. Overweight people do not usually experience such a marked metabolic increase in response to excess calories and sadly gain even more weight.

Every time you eat, especially if you eat a high protein meal, your metabolic rate goes up. For this reason, it is better to eat four to five small meals throughout the day, keeping your metabolism constantly charged. Eating fewer meals throughout the day tends to slow your metabolism and makes you more efficient at storing fat.
It is clearly better to spread your total caloric consumption throughout the entire day, rather than consuming all your calories in one sitting. Your body burns the calories provided by a meal as fuel to meet the energy demands of the moment and then stores the rest for later use.

For example, if you eat 2,000 calories in one sitting, your body produces a strong insulin response. This high level stops fat from being broken down and consumed for energy purposes. A good way to remind yourself of the best way to eat is to treat yourself like royalty in the morning and afternoon only. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and supper like a pauper.

Your metabolism is highest in the morning and afternoon, and slows significantly at night. Therefore, your biggest meals should be early in the day. In some respects it is the total caloric consumption per 24-hour period that is important.

However, by eating late at night when your metabolism is the slowest and then going right to sleep, you are more likely to end up storing these extra calories as fat. This means you do not have a chance to burn off these calories by activity, and the next morning you feed your body even more. Remember that it is always better to skip that late bedtime snack, save the calories, and just go to sleep.

Exacerbating the Problem - Diets Make You Fat!

Dieting only exacerbates the situation.

It causes fit cells to send signals to the brain to increase appetite and hunger. This life-long obsessive struggle with weight control leads to a disturbance of the metabolism that only makes it harder to lose weight. Worse yet, it expedites the inevitable regaining of excess weight.

Many fat people can rightfully claim that diets made them fatter! When you cut back on food, the brain acts as a thermostat and signals the body to slow down your metabolic rate in an attempt to preserve fat stores and maintain your current weight set point.

Your body can lower its metabolic rate by as much as 20 to 25%, which means it will burn calories more slowly. There is also a loss of lean muscle mass, the body's most metabolically active tissue. Muscle cells are the furnaces of the body that burn fat.
When you go on a low-calorie diet lacking sufficient protein and other nutrients, the body, in an effort to conserve fat stores, begins to "eat itself" by breaking down muscle tissue. Each time you lose weight, you lose lean body mass as well as fat.
However, when you regain the weight it is mostly fat, resulting in an unhealthy increase in the total proportion of body fat to lean body mass. This means you end up even fatter and less healthy than before you dieted. Making matters even worse, your metabolic rate slows down even more.

Therefore, each successive attempt at weight loss becomes more difficult and the automatic body process of regaining lost weight is even more rapid, setting up the frustrating cycle of yo-yo dieting.

The Power of Olfaction on Human Behavior

The olfactory sense has proven to have powerful and immediate effects on many aspects of our behavior including appetite, mood, emotion, pleasure, memory and sexuality.

The powerful effects of smell are commonly referred to in both popular and scientific literature. Besides bringing us pleasure, the sense of smell plays an important role in alerting us to dangers, in identifying food sources, and in preventing ingestion of spoiled foods.

The role of olfaction is crucial to our survival and the survival of the entire animal kingdom. Everyday experiences make us all aware of the association between smell and appetite and emotions.
Positive hedonics, the sweet aromas of warm cookies, fresh baked bread, or even child play material aromas like clay, can evoke pleasant memories and emotions from childhood.

Negative hedonics can be anything associated with unpleasant memories, such as the antiseptic smell of a dentist's office. All of us are aware of how the aromas of our favorite foods can affect our appetite and make us salivate and feel hungry.
Common examples include BBQ meat at a cookout or popcorn at the movies.

Consider the following: If you have been in the kitchen all day cooking, you may have noticed that you tend to lose your appetite even for foods you like. This is a very common experience among people who work around food all day long.
If continuously exposed to an appetizing scent that initially makes us crave the food we smell, after a time, the same scent begins to have the opposite effects. We no longer crave the food. In fact, we often feel repelled by it.

The Discovery of the Connection Between Loss of Smell and Weight Gain
The strong physiological connection between the sense of smell and appetite has been appreciated since ancient times. However, only recently has it become clear that the olfactory sense is involved in determining the safety response, that sensation we call feeling full.

This fascinating association between the olfactory sense and satiety ultimately led to the revolutionary breakthrough of using the sense of smell to lose weight.
A Dr. Hirsch's research originally focused on patients who had lost their ability to smell due to either brain injury or medication, a condition called anosmia. Scientific study confirmed that victims suffering from this condition often gained more than 10% of their pre-injury body weight.

When their anosmia could be treated with medication they returned to their pre-injury weight. When patients lost their ability to smell, a regulatory mechanism that signaled a feeling of fullness malfunctioned. It became clear that without smell, patients often experienced a failure of the olfactory satiety feedback mechanism.

They were no longer aware when they were supposed to stop eating.
Smell and taste are inextricably bound together. In fact, 90% of our taste experience is actually due to smell. We have all walked down the detergent aisle at the supermarket and "tasted" the soap powder.

Without the sense of smell you would not be able to distinguish if you were biting into an apple, a pear or an onion. Chocolate would taste like cardboard.
You can prove the importance of smell to tasting for yourself. Simply pinch your nose, close your eyes, and try a few samples of different foods with similar textures.

You will no doubt be quickly surprised at how much you have been unknowingly depending on smells to define as well as enhance your dining experience. Taste is very different from flavor. Taste is a physiological response determined by taste receptors on the tongue that can only distinguish four distinct tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

Flavor is an overall sensation combining smell, taste, texture and temperature of food and even "pain" sensation from hot, spicy food. The sense of smell that affects what we experience as flavor reaches the brain through our nose.

More importantly, via the retronasal pathway, the connecting passageway from the back of the throat to the nose. All of us at one time or another have choked or laughed too hard with a full mouth of food or drink and had it come out our nose.

The process of slowly chewing our food and savoring every bite releases odor molecules that stimulate the olfactory mechanism and enhance our experience of flavor. Some people lose interest in food when they lose their sense of smell, but many often consume more food and enjoy it less.

They often eat spicy, hot, very salty, sweet, or crunchy foods in an attempt to compensate for the loss of smell by stimulating the nerve sensitive to irritation and painful stimuli.

The Sense of Smell and the Sensation of Feeling Full

The olfactory sense, in addition to enhancing what we experience as food flavor, is integrally involved in determining our sensation of fullness.

Why and when do you stop eating? The sensation of fullness, referred to as safety usually takes about 20 minutes to experience and is related to hormonal changes and neurochemical messages your brain receives.

Actually, it is not the stomach, but rather the brain, that tells you when you are hungry or full, when to eat or not to eat. When the intestinal tract receives food it stimulates the production of many substances that have an effect on the appetite center of the brain in the hypothalamus.

In response to a carbohydrate meal, insulin production is increased, which ultimately increases the level of a brain neurotransmitter called serotonin that suppresses appetite and causes a feeling of satiety. identify the stimulus first and then feel an emotional response.

This difference in perception is because an inhaled aroma is processed directly by the limbic system of the brain rather than the cerebral cortex where the stimuli from the other senses are first perceived. It is then transmitted to other areas of the brain.
The limbic system is the portion of the brain between the brain stem that controls automatic basic functions and the cerebral cortex which is responsible for higher cognitive processing.

The limbic system controls a wide array of physiological functions from regulating blood pressure, heart rate, sugar levels, body temperature, our "fight or flight" response, sleep, moods, memories, emotions ranging from pleasure to fear, sexual function and appetite.

These direct connections between the smell receptors and the parts of the brain that control emotions and appetite are why inhaled scents can evoke such immediate and powerful emotional responses. In addition, olfactory information is processed by the emotional intuitive right side of the brain rather than the logical analytical left side.

Also, unlike the perceiving cells of sight, touch, or hearing, the olfactory scent perceiving receptor cabs are direct extensions of the brain. These scent perceiving cells within the nose are "wired" directly by nerve fibers of the olfactory mechanism to the portion of the brain responsible for memory and emotion and to the satiety center of the hypothalamus, located in the limbic system part of the brain without any intermediary nerve connections.
Again, this is different than all the other senses in our bodies.

A Medical Breakthrough Utilizing Sense of Smell

The neurological link between the sense of smell and activation of the satiety center has been firmly established by medical research.

This link has a major role in determining the sense of fullness that lets us know when it is time to stop eating. There is an olfactory satiety feedback mechanism that controls the amount of food we consume. Ancient Romans and Greeks were aware of this relationship and used aromas to suppress hunger and control weight.

Men used fennel to give them energy and suppress hunger while marching and women used fennel to prevent weight gain. In 1763, John Wesley the founder of Methodism, suggested that a "bit of bread dipped in wine and applied to the nostrils" would stop the insatiable appetite.

Observations such as these and the established anatomical relationship between olfaction and the hypothalamus eventually led to an aromatherapy solution, an amazing breakthrough that is revolutionizing the way people lose weight.

When you eat, it is actually your brain's hypothalamic satiety center that determines when you have had enough. The sense of smell communicates with your brain to determine how much food has entered your mouth and, when you have had enough, to stop eating.

The brain translates the amount of smell that reaches the olfactory cells into an amount of food it assumes you have eaten. Diet Pens work by delivering scents in the absence of actual food. The inhalation of these specially formulated scents simulates the consumption of a proportionate amount of food, making you feel full.
With this remarkable breakthrough you lose weight without excessive sacrifice or hunger. You just sniff then eat whatever you want, and still can lose weight simply by eating smaller amounts and leaving food on your plate.

Overcoming the Set Point - Our Internal Fat Thermostat

Attaining and maintaining ideal weight is perhaps one of the highest priorities for many people.

Millions have already tried stimulant prescriptions, appetite suppressants, thyroid hormones, herbs, vitamins, low fat diets, high fat diets, calorie counting, will power, over-eaters anonymous sessions, hypnotherapy, personal trainers, and the like.
Yet for all the effort and money spent, most probably still have trouble maintaining their weight. The problem is not so much losing the weight, but keeping it off and keeping some balance between an enjoyable lifestyle and foods that are healthy and worth eating.

What has become increasingly clear is that weight management is really only achieved when the body is in balance. This includes balancing hormones, metabolism, activity, and certainly food choices. The reason for this is in part related to internal controls we all possess that determine if we should eat, drink, sleep, or run a fever.

The effect of this internal mechanism, a sort of thermostat for body functions often referred to as the weight set point, is never addressed by pills, exercise, diet, herbs, or for that matter anything you normally associate with weight-loss attempts.
What I have come to observe is that the set point for your weight must be adjusted. Just as when it is too hot in your home, you change the thermostat to adjust the temperature. Using this analogy to the weight set point it's just a matter of dialing it in to the right weight.

If you have ever lost 5 to 10 pounds after a severe bout of the flu or after a fast, you probably noticed that the lost weight seemed to return almost overnight. It is this accustomed weight called the set point, which your body is trying to maintain. When you deviate above or below this set point, your body automatically tries to return to that established weight, recognizing it as its natural state.

This rebound phenomenon is another evolutionary adaptation to resist change. Simply put, when you lose weight your body tries to regain it as soon as possible. The body defends the set-point weight by decreasing its metabolic rate, increasing storage and increasing hunger. With each successive diet, the set point seems to inch its way up, due to the cumulative damage to your body's metabolism.

You keep stabilizing at higher and higher weight set points, ultimately resulting in your becoming fatter. The body's attempt to return to its set-point weight is the reason that, with a very restrictive diet, you may experience the uncontrollable hunger to which 95% of all dieters succumb.

After you end a diet, you often regain the weight very rapidly when you resume "normal eating" because your metabolism is still lowered from dieting and your fat cells' fat storing mechanisms are activated and enhanced. The metabolism lowering effects are cumulative each time you diet, which results in your regaining the weight even though you are eating fewer and fewer calories.

How does your brain know that you lost this weight below the "set point" and cause these overwhelming cravings? Recently, studies have found genes that cause the fat cells to produce a hormone called leptin.

When you lose weight and the amount of fat in your fat cells decrease, the cells make less leptin. Lower levels of leptin signals the brain to increase the production of a chemical called neuropeptide Y, which dramatically stimulates the appetite, especially for carbohydrates, and causes you to eat.

The hypothalamus is a master gland in the brain that regulates a number of bodily functions such as blood pressure, body temperature, metabolic rate, mood, sleep anxiety, sexual drives and appetite.

Even if you use your strongest resolve and stave off these cravings, the hypothalamus produces another neurotransmitter, galanin, which tells the body to eat fat as well as to store more fat. Eventually, the biological signals overwhelm most dieters' willpower and they end up gorging.

Aromatherapy diet pens help you overcome these strong hunger signals from your brain when your weight drops below the set point.

Diet Pens can enable you to create a mindset that lets you feel satisfied instead of starved. It is possible for the body to change this set point, to lower the "fat thermostat." Slow weight loss allows the body to adjust to the new weight and helps stabilize the leptin levels that send messages from the fat cells to the brain.

Although exercise is not necessary to lose weight on an aromatherapy program, it is very helpful for long maintenance. Exercise helps lower the set point, corrects metabolic damage done by years of yo-yo dieting, increases resting metabolic rate and builds more muscle tissue.

This simple and safe device was a direct way to dial in the weight set point.
You see, there is a direct access to the brain, where the set point is located, through the roof of the nose. A thin plate with holes in it like a strainer allows the brain to receive smell signals. From there the signal is sent through a sort of information highway called the limbic system, which ends at the master control center, the hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus is the satiety center. It is here that the Diet Pen seems to exert its gentle but profound effect on the weight set point. Not only does the Diet Pen reduce your appetite, but it has another amazing and critical action; it reduces the set point for your weight.

The net effect is a slow reduction in weight that stays off even after you stop using the Diet Pen. This is the missing link for all other weight loss programs. One of the biggest drawbacks to any program is failing to stay on it long enough to allow it to work.

Everyone wants to lose weight in a week or two. Experts in human physiology remind us that you can only lose 1-1/2 pounds of fat a week under perfect conditions. Anything more is just water weight or muscle. The Diet Pen can be a critical piece of the success puzzle. Be patient. Be persistent. The reward will last you a lifetime.

Aromatherapy Diet Pens -An Amazing Solution

They are not a diet. They are not a drug.

Diet pens are truly a revolutionary weight loss plan that help you control your eating and free you from the incessant craving for food. Diet pens do not take the inherent pleasure out of eating. You can still enjoy all the foods you love.

All you have to do is sniff, eat less, feel full and satisfied and, best of all lose weight. Diets don't work they lower your metabolic rate, result in a loss of lean body mass and interfere with the natural cycle of hypothalamic, appetite control neurochemicals serotonin, neuropeptide Y and galanin.

This biochemical disruption leads to bingeing and overwhelming cravings for carbohydrates and fats, resulting in the inevitable rebound. Willpower only goes so far, but just as the biological need for sleep will always win out, so does the biological need for food.

The diet pens are the solution to the dieter's dilemma because they work with the body and not against the basic, instinctual drives of survival. We gain control of our eating, conquer food cravings and urges to overeat by learning to listen to our body signals.

Do They Work?

One study titled Weight Reduction Through Inhalation of Odorants was performed by Hirsch and Gomez at the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago.
According to them despite the pervasive problem of obesity and the expenditure of billions of dollars devising methods of losing weight, no studies had been published on the role of the olfactory sense in determining weight.

To assess the effect of inhalation of certain aromas upon weight control, they studied 3,193 overweight volunteers. Their average age was 43 years, average height 65 inches, and average weight 217 pounds. Each was given an inhaler containing a blend of odorants and instructed to inhale three times in each nostril whenever feeling hungry.

New inhalers containing a new blend of odorants were supplied each month over a period of 6 months. Those subjects whose test scores showed they had good olfactory abilities and who use their inhalers frequently, ate 2 to 4 meals a day, felt bad about overeating, but did not feel bad about themselves lost nearly 5 pounds, or 2% of body weight per month.

They concluded that it is possible that inhalation of certain aromas can induce sustained weight loss over a 6-month period.

They stated further that states of hunger and satiety are known to be of crucial importance in the regulation of weight. The perception of hunger has many variables.
Environmental stimuli, psychological condition and interna1physiology all contribute a share. Everyday experiences attest to the influence of ambient aromas on our appetites. We salivate at the smell of freshly baked cookies and feel nauseated at a whiff of sewer gas. When we are hungry, foods smell better and therefore taste better.

Conversely, olfactory ability wanes when we are satiated, lessening the urge for further tasting. Anatomic connections of the olfactory bulb to the hypothalamus, the satiety center, authenticate these observations, as does the presence of a gastric satiety factor, as a neurotransmitter in the olfactory bulb.

The fact that patients with acute loss of smell often gain weight suggests that a failure of the olfactory, satiety feedback mechanism may be involved. Thus it is perhaps surprising, that amid the proliferating studies of weight regulation, no reports have been published assessing the role of olfaction.

The purpose of their investigation was to explore the effect of odors in regulating body weight. Specifically, to determine whether inhaling certain sweet aromas would facilitate weight loss in overweight subjects.

All of their 3,193 volunteers for the study were at least 10 pounds overweight, between the ages of 18 and 64 years, had no history of asthma. Subjects were given inhalers containing blends of aromatic ingredients and instructed to inhale three times in each nostril whenever hungry.

They were told not to deviate from their usual diet and exercise habits. Then each month for a period of 6 months, the subjects were given new inhalers containing a new aromatic blend in a sequence of peppermint, banana, and green apple. Subjects were weighed monthly and the average weight loss was 2% of body weight per month or five pounds a month for six months.

In a more recent study, Stimulation in Appetite Suppression and Weight Loss by Drs Mayer, Davidson, and Hensley at the Human Neuro-Sensory Laboratory in Washington, DC the findings were supported. They reasoned that the anatomical physiologic mechanisms of olfactory induced satiety are complex.

This olfactory satiety feedback mechanism is a result of direct anatomical connections between the olfactory bulb and the nucleus of the hypothalamus, the satiety center. Ambient scents are detected by olfactory receptor cells that can distinguish more than 10,000 different volatile aroma molecules.

The axons of these receptor cells directly effect neurons in the olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is a unique structure because it is actually an outgrowth of the brain and contains almost all of the neurotransmitters found in the rest of the brain including hormones known to control hunger and satiety.

Recently, it has been demonstrated that the thalamus plays a role in the hedonic perception of food, and that lesions within this region of the brain result in alteration in appetite and loss of weight. These studies indicate that central processing of hedonic clues is important in the short-term regulation of food intake and thus long term control of body weight.

These new insights into the mechanism of hunger and satiety provide a new approach to an old problem of weight regulation. It is clearly evident that the sense of olfaction via this olfactory satiety feedback loop has a powerful and immediate effect on appetite regulation.

The goals of their study were to extend the observations of Hirsch and Gomez and test the association of the inhalation of the same specially formulated scents and weight reduction in a double blind, randomized, condoned study to rule out any placebo effects.

The study tests the hypothesis that inhalation of specially formulated, positive hedonic scents can function in the acute regulation of appetite and contribute to satiety. They also tested the hypothesis that the inhalation of positive hedonic scents can lead to sustained weight loss.

Finally, the study was designed to delineate the time course and rate of weight loss. 80 subjects were provided with either the diet pens or the placebo pens. Each set of test pens contained 3 different scents that were used in an alternate fashion.

Each subject received 6 sets of pens and was instructed to change to a new set every three weeks. Subjects were instructed to inhale the scents in each nostril three times for three repeating cycles, 5-6 minutes prior to eating and again within 5-6 minutes after eating. Subjects were instructed to use the pens containing the specially formulated scents or those containing placebo scents before meals, snacks, or whenever they felt the urge to eat.

The investigators and subjects did not know which subjects received devices containing the active ingredients. The subjects were instructed not to overtly alter their normal routine of exercise or food selection.

Subjects were weighed each week for a duration of six weeks. Subjects were questioned at the end of the study regarding their impressions of the effects of the pens on appetite and food consumption.

After subjects were presented with olfactory and visual stimuli, like a slice of pizza, they were instructed to rank their appetite cravings on a 1-l0 scale. Subjects were instructed to inhale the scents from one pen in each nostril three times for three repeating cycles.

The subjects were again asked to rank their appetite cravings at 1 and 5 minutes after smelling the pens.

Subjects using the pens containing the specially formulated scents lost an average of 19.15 pounds or 11.68% of body weight. This compared to the placebo scent subjects who lost 3.85 pounds or 2.43% of body weight over the 16 week period. This translates to an effective weight loss of 15.4 pounds or 9.34% of body weight in subjects using the pens containing the specially formulated scents.

The rate of weight loss over time showed the greatest amount of effectiveness during the middle third of the study. Experiments designed to test the efficacy of the specially formulated scents as an acute appetite suppressant demonstrated that the use of the pens containing the specially formulated scents blunted the olfactory/visual stimulated appetite by 35% in 1 minute and 49.25% in 5 minutes.

These results were significant when compared with placebo which showed no reduction in appetite after 1 and 5 minutes. This study confirms the results of the study by Drs. Hirsch and Gomez. The inhalation of certain aromas can aid in appetite control and weight loss and were not just a behavioral response or an effect of being in a study.

This study conclusively proves in a randomized, controlled, double blind fashion that the inhalation of specially formulated scents are effective in appetite reduction, squelching food cravings and weight loss without any conscious dieting or exercising.

Subjects using the pens containing the specially formulated scents as a weight loss tool were able to lose a significant amount of weight over the course of the study, while subjects using the placebo version did not see a significant degree of weight loss.
Given that the only difference between the pen containing the specially formulated scents and the placebo was the presence of specific olfactory stimuli, the increased weight loss is attributable to the specially formulated scents themselves.

The rate of weight loss was fairly consistent throughout study demonstrating a lack of habituation to scents over time. This is an important consideration when dealing with olfactory neural mechanisms. In addition to abating appetite and inducing weight loss, this study also shows that the specially formulated scents are very effective in blunting food cravings.

Use of the pens containing the specially formulated scents decreased the cravings for food by 35% within one minute and 50% within five minutes. This effect was significantly greater than what was seen with the placebo scents indicating that the majority of the effect was attributable to the specially formulated scents. These results suggest that acute appetite suppression is, at least in part, a viable mechanism for the observed effects of the specially formulated scents on weight loss.

This is supported by the fiat that subjects using the pens containing the specially formulated scents reported an earlier and an increased sense of satiety while eating. The subjects also reported that they were eating less during the meal and were able to curb snacking by using the pens containing the specially formulated scents.

In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the inhalation of specially formulated scents harnesses the body's internal appetite control mechanism.
The olfactory satiety feedback loop, by delivering specially formulated, positive hedonic scents triggering the satiety center of the brain without the actual consumption of food. The sense of smell enables the brain to determine a sense of fullness by translating the amount of smell that reaches the olfactory cells into a proportional amount of food one has presumably eaten before any digestion has taken place.

Thus inhaling the specially formulated scents, in the absence of food, causes early satiety, squelches food cravings and decreases appetite by "fooling the brain into thinking that one has eaten a proportional amount of food. In the end, this process turns off hunger, helps the user to stop eating sooner and thus controls the amount of food consumed, a direct link to caloric consumption.

This study conclusively proves that inhaling these specially developed scents results in weight loss without any conscious changes in diet or exercise.

In order for this technique to work sniffing and tricking the brain into thinking you have eaten, the aroma molecules must be delivered to the olfactory system in the absence of an immediate opportunity to consume the food. Diet Pens have a special formulation of blended scents that are specially developed.

If you use the same scent everyday, it would lose its effectiveness, so you must alternate among the scents. Inhale gently three times in each nostril about five to six minutes before you eat, five to ten minutes after you eat, before you put any food in your mouth, even if it is just a piece of candy, and every time you feel the least bit hungry. Ideally, you should sniff at least ten times per day.

Although you are not aware of it, both of your nostrils are not equally open or dosed at the same time. There is an olfactory cycle that occurs about every eight hours when one nostril is open and the other closed.

That is why it is important to inhale three times on each side. Hold one nostril closed and take three deep gentle sniffs. After each sniff breathe out of your mouth and then alternate to the other side. The more you sniff the more you can lose.

The diet pen is the weight loss solution for which you have been searching. It is so simple and painless. By taking advantage of this amazing proven system, many people have been able to actually conquer and win their personal battle with the bulge.