Can Flavor and Aroma Make You Lose Weight?

Have you seen the infomercials for the new weight loss product Sensa? They make the all-too-familiar claim that you needn't change the way you eat -- simply use their product, eat whatever you like, and you will lose weight.

There is a new twist, however. Most products that make this claim are drugs of one sort or another. Some are thermogenics that speed up metabolism. Others are fat sequestrants that bind up fat in your gut, so that theoretically you absorb fewer calories. Still others are laxatives; this is the case with several of the weight loss teas on the market.

Sensa, on the other hand, is simply a series of powders you sprinkle over your food to enhance its flavor and aroma.

Seems that a neurologist named Alan Hirsch became interested in the odd fact that people who lose their senses of taste and smell from head injuries often gain weight rather than losing it. He hypothesized that there is something in the brain that reacts to smell and taste with a sense of satiety.

So Hirsch has come up with Sensa, a series of powders, some for savory foods, some for sweet, that one sprinkles over one's food before eating it. The claim is that while these powders do not change the flavor of the food, they somehow enhance it, making the user feel full faster. The user therefore eats less automatically, and loses weight. There is a series of six months worth of different "tastants," the idea being that the brain grows used to one, and needs another to jar it back into satiety. If you use Sensa for longer than six months, you go back to the beginning of the rotation.

This leads to some interesting questions.

* The Sensa website has repeated admonitions not only to sprinkle Sensa on every food the user eats, but also to pay attention and stop eating as soon as the user "begins to feel full." Am I the only one who thinks that this alone might cause weight loss?

* If taste and aroma are essential to feeling full, what does this say about the typical American diet loaded with bland starchy foods? Also, since we know that much flavor and aroma is derived from or carried in fats, what does this say about a low fat diet?

* Doesn't it then follow that eating flavorful things like meats and aged cheeses not only fills us up by stabilizing blood sugar and giving our bodies the nutrients they need, but also by stimulating this satiety thingy in the brain?

* If a wide variety of strong, interesting flavors and aromas can increase satiety and cause weight loss, shouldn't we all lose weight by using plenty of spices in our food, and keeping a variety of sprinkle-on seasonings in the house to use on simple grilled or roasted meats? Too, shouldn't using, say, Mexican-style seasonings one day, Indian seasonings the next, Chinese later in the week, with a good slug of Middle Eastern seasoning later in the month, help? Talk about a good reason to vary your diet and try new recipes.

* If Sensa is all you need to lose weight (along with that "stop eating when you first begin to feel full" thing), why does their website community offer logs, journals, workout routines, etc?

Still, it's an interesting concept, and one has to give Hirsch points for originality, if nothing else.

The website is giving away a month's supply of Sensa to anyone who wants to try it. I confess to curiosity, since they're obviously expecting the average Sensa user to be eating either a Standard American Diet, or the current idea of a "healthy" diet -- ie, low fat, lots of starches, fruits and vegetables. Be interesting to know if it had any effect on low carbers, no? Still, the program runs $59/month after the free month, which is a whole lot more than this girl has to spend.

What say you? Should I try one month's worth and report back? I'm thinking it would have to wait until after I'm done with the slow cooker recipes. Still, I once again stand ready to play guinea pig for the greater good.