If you want to curb those hunger pangs, it’s about time you took a sniff of peppermint. A new study has proven the hint of mint is enough to reduce our hunger urges.
Psychologist Bryan Raudenbush, a professor at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia has confirmed that if you can manage to get a whiff of peppermint scent every two hours, you’ll be able to suppress hunger cravings.
In his study, volunteers who were asked to sniff the mint leaf every two hours found they were less hungry than those who were ‘non-sniffers’. The result meant that those who were sniffing on mint ate 2,800 fewer calories per week ( which could lead to a loss of a pound of fat for dieters.)
Speaking about the effects of the mint, Raudenbush said the peppermint:
“is distracting you from your hunger pains, and you don’t feel as inclined to eat as much.”
Raudenbush’s earlier studies also showed that athletes perform better if they sniff peppermint:
“They were able to go longer at the gym, able to push themselves, were more motivated, less fatigued and felt like they had more energy.”
The study also concluded “another implication would be that peppermint scent could be used to curb individuals’ false hunger cravings, i.e. emotional eating.”
Interestingly enough, eating peppermint candy or chewing peppermint gum was shown not to be as successful in helping curb the hunger pangs.
