CHICAGO, May 26 (UPI) -- A Chicago researcher claims the smell of grapefruit will make women appear five years younger than they are to men.
But the reverse is not true in that the aroma of the citrus fruit had no significant effect on how women perceive the age of males, says a study by Alan Hirsch, a neurologist and psychiatrist and director of Chicago's Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
"That suggests either that men are more easily influenced by a woman's aroma or that women are so adroit at estimating age that nothing will impact on them," said Hirsch.
Hirsch is not sure why grapefruit distorts men's ability to estimate the age of women, but thinks the aroma may lead to heightened well-being leading to a more "optimistic" view of the physical attributes of the women, the newspaper said.
Hirsch's aroma research also found a combination of lavender and pumpkin pie smell is good for male sexual arousal. For women, it is a combination of cucumber and Good & Plenty.
Hirsch said he believes smells are so powerful because they travel a pathway directly to the emotional part of the brain.
