When you have a stuffy nose, a
slice of freshly baked apple pie tastes like mush. But not being able to smell
your food could have a surprising effect on your metabolism, potentially
helping you remain thin even when you eat fatty foods, a new study in mice
suggests.
“This is a very exciting study,
and the outcome is quite compelling,” says neuroendocrinologist Tamas Horvath
of Yale School of Medicine, who wasn’t connected to the research.
To conduct the study, molecular
biologist Andrew Dillin of the University of California, Berkeley, and
colleagues turned to a variety of genetically altered mice. The scientists gave
them regular doses of the diphtheria toxin—which causes a temporary loss of
odor-sensing neurons—to suppress their sense of smell. They then fed the
rodents either a normal diet or fatty foods—the mouse equivalent of cheesecake
and pizza—that usually induce obesity.
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