How Smell, Taste & Pheromone-Like Chemicals Control You

283 snips

Jun 21, 2021

Dive into the fascinating world of smell and taste, and learn how chemicals affect our emotions and behavior. Discover the potential sixth taste and how specific foods influence cravings. Explore the profound impact of scents on memory and learning, plus how sniffing can boost focus. Uncover the biological connections between pheromones and attraction, including surprising effects of tears on libido. This insightful discussion sheds light on how our sensory experiences shape not only our preferences but also our overall brain health.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Nasal Breathing for Focus

Practice nasal breathing for better focus and learning, especially during focused work.
Inhaling heightens alertness, while exhaling causes a slight dip in arousal.

ADVICE

Sniffing Practice

Enhance your sense of smell and taste by practicing sniffing.
Sniffing nothing 10-15 times before smelling something increases your perception.

INSIGHT

Smell and Taste as Brain Health Indicators

Your sense of smell and taste reflects brain health and can even indicate recovery from concussion.
Olfactory neurons regenerate throughout life and are influenced by exercise and dopamine.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Jaws

Peter Benchley

Published in 1974, 'Jaws' tells the story of a great white shark that preys upon the fictional town of Amity, a small seaside resort on Long Island. The novel follows the efforts of Police Chief Martin Brody, marine biologist Matt Hooper, and shark hunter Quint as they try to stop the shark. The book explores themes of public safety versus economic survival, marital strife, and the primal fear of nature's brutality. Despite mixed critical reviews, the novel was a huge commercial success and led to a iconic film adaptation by Steven Spielberg[1][3][5].

Breath

The New Science of a Lost Art

James Nestor

In 'Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art,' James Nestor delves into the history and science of breathing, revealing how modern humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly. The book takes readers on a global journey to ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, and other unusual locations to uncover the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo. Nestor collaborates with pulmonary experts to test long-held beliefs about breathing and presents evidence that slight adjustments in breathing can significantly improve athletic performance, rejuvenate internal organs, and alleviate various health issues such as snoring, asthma, and autoimmune diseases.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque

The novel is narrated by Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who enlists in the army along with his classmates. It vividly depicts the horrors of trench warfare, the disillusionment with patriotic ideals, and the psychological toll of war on the soldiers. The book follows Paul's experiences from the brutal training to the front lines, where he witnesses the death of his friends and grapples with the meaninglessness of war. The novel is a powerful anti-war statement, highlighting the futility and devastating consequences of war on individuals and society.

What Is Color?

50 Questions and Answers on the Science of Color

Joann Eckstut

Arielle Eckstut

This book provides a thorough and visually engaging exploration of color across various fields, including physics, chemistry, biology, technology, and psychology. It covers topics such as the difference between light and pigment colors, different light sources, and the biology of color perception. The book is designed to be accessible and educational for a wide audience.

Sex Differences and Reproductive Hormone Influences on Human Odor Perception

Richard L. Doty

Elizabeth L. Cameron

This article reviews the scientific understanding of sex differences in human olfactory function, including how reproductive hormones such as those during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy affect smell perception. It highlights that women generally outperform men in various olfactory tasks, though the relationship between hormones and olfactory function is complex.

Taste Perception from the Tongue to the Testes

Exploring the Role of Taste Receptors Beyond the Tongue

Feng Li

This book might delve into the fascinating world of taste perception, discussing how taste receptors are not only found on the tongue but also in other parts of the body, including the testis and spermatozoa. It could explore the implications of these receptors in human health and biology.

This episode explains how we sense chemicals through smell, taste, and pheromones. How things smell and taste and chemicals in the tears, breath, and on the skin of others have a profound effect on how we feel, what we do, and our hormones. I explain the 3 types of responses to smell, the 5 types of tastes, the possible existence of sixth taste sense, and how the act of sniffing can make us learn and focus better. I explain how smell and taste reflect brain health and can assess and even promote brain regeneration. I discuss how eating specific categories of foods makes us crave more of those foods, including how to make sour things taste sweet and develop a heightened sense of smell and taste.

Read the full show notes for this episode at hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman

LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab

Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman

Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:06:02 Sensing Chemicals: Smell, Taste & Chemicals That People Make To Control Each Other

00:09:10 Vision Protocols Recap (Brief) & Correction

00:12:20 Color Vision: Excellent Resource: What is Color? (The Book)

00:13:54 How We Sense Chemicals: Enter Our Nose, Mouth, Eyes, Skin

00:17:28 The Chemicals From Other People’s Tears Lower Testosterone & Libido

00:21:16 SMELL: Sniffing, A Piece of Your Brain In Your Nose, 3 Responses To Smells

00:24:40 Smells & Memory: Why They Are So Powerfully Associated

00:26:40 Pheromone Effects: Spontaneous Miscarriage, Males & Timing Female Puberty

00:28:56 Sniffing Creates Alertness & If Done Properly Can Help You Focus & Learn Better

00:34:00 Protocol 1: Sniffing (Nothing) 10-15X Enhances Your Ability to Smell & Taste

00:35:50 Smelling Salts, Ammonia & Adrenaline

00:38:25 How You Can Become A Human Scent Hound, Detecting Cancer, & Tasting Better

00:43:45 Smell As A Readout Of Brain Health & Longevity; Regaining Lost Sense Of Smell

00:48:30 Dopamine, Sense Of Smell, New Neurons & New Relationships

00:50:20 Why Brain Injury Causes Loss Of Smell; Using Smell To Gauge & Speed Recovery

00:53:33 Using Smell To Immediately Becoming Physically Stronger

00:54:40 Smelling In Our Dreams, Active Sniffing In Sleep, Sniffing As a Sign Of Consciousness

00:57:35 Mint Scents Create Alertness By Activating Broad Wake-Up Pathways

00:59:48 Protocol 2 Pleasant Or Putrid: The Microwave Popcorn Test, Cilantro, Asparagus, Musk

01:03:00 Skunks, Costello, All Quiet On The Western Front

01:04:32 TASTE: Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Umami, Sour; Your Tongue, Gustatory Nerve, NST, Cortex

01:08:45 Energy, Electrolytes, Poisons, Gagging, Amino Acid & Fatty Acid Sensing, Fermentation

01:13:48 Our 6th Sense of Taste: FAT Sensing

01:15:05 Gut-Brain: Your Mouth As An Extension Of Your Gut; Burned Mouth & Regeneration

01:19:30 Protocol 3: Learn To Be A Super-Taster By Top-Down Behavioral Plasticity

01:22:20 The Umami-Sweet Distinction: Tigers Versus Pandas

01:25:05 Eating More Plants Versus Eating More Meat, Cravings & Desire

01:27:15 Food That Makes You Feel Good Or Bad: Taste Receptors On Our Testes Or Ovaries

01:30:05 Biological Basis For The Sensuality of Umami and Sweet Foods

01:32:28 Appetitive & Aversive Sensing: Touching Certain Surfaces, Tasting Certain Foods

01:33:35 Amino Acids Are Key To Life, The Maillard Reaction, Smell-Taste Merge, Food Texture

01:39:00 How Processed Food Make You Crave More Processed Foods

01:39:44 Protocol 4: Invert Your Sense of Sweet & Sour: Miracle Fruit; Swapping Bitter & Sweet

01:43:03 Pheromones, Desire To Continue Mating: Coolidge Effect Occurs In Males & Females

01:46:40 Do Women Influence Each Others Menstrual Cycles?

01:49:19 Recognizing the Smell Of Your Romantic Partner

01:50:30 Differences In Odor Detection Ability, Effects Of Hormones

01:53:00 We Rub The Chemicals Of Others On Our Eyes and Skin, Bunting Behavior

01:56:40 Summary

Disclaimer

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices