Do you agree that the sense of smell plays a significant role in being attracted to another person? That it’s an evolutionary vestige that helps pick a potential mate? Yes? Then you might want to read this article further.
Many men know that they need to smell nice and fresh when trying to seem more alluring to a member of the opposite sex. It’s like the first lesson when they’re learning how to attract a woman! However, just splashing on some aftershave or a cologne isn’t going to cut it. New research suggests that they want to eat a salad too, to increase their chances of appealing to women.
Image source: pandawhale
The study was published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, and the paper was titled, Diet Quality and the Attractiveness of Male Body Odor.
The study shows that men who consume large amounts of fruits and vegetables have the most attractive smell to women, which results in a body odor that is described as being floral and sweet. Meat, eggs, and tofu too gave a quite pleasant smelling body odor to men who ate them. However, on the other hand, men who consumed greater amounts of carbohydrates-rich foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, bagels and the like tended to have the least pleasant body odor.
Dr Ian Stephen, who is a psychologist at Macquerie University in Sydney, and his team, who conducted the research, said that their findings suggests that women tend to pick up on a man’s body odor, which gives them information about their health.
Image source: Tumblr
The researchers wrote:
“The female judges were able to reliably evaluate the affective and intensity dimensions of male body odor. Male axillary sweat can serve as a further honest cue to women, about a man’s health status.”
The study also suggests that yellower skin that is a cause of greater intake of foods rich in carotenoids such as carrots, appeal to women. The researchers were able to measure the level of coloring in men’s skin caused by carotenoids, thereby estimating their fruits and vegetables intake.
Suggested read: Sex before bed cures chronic sleeplessness, says Science!
Nine women were asked by researchers to smell sweat collected from 43 different men. And the women rated the sweat from men with higher carotenoid levels as being better smelling. This sweat was described as being fruity, floral, sweet, or having medicinal qualities.
To measure how much meat and carbohydrates they consumed, the men were asked to fill out questionnaires about their dietary intake. To the researchers’ surprise, they found that women found men who consumed large quantities of protein had pleasant smelling sweat.
However, high levels of carbohydrate-rich foods in their diet were linked to the least pleasant smelling sweat.
Image source: mrshife
In the journal, the researchers said:
“Diets rich in fruit and vegetables are associated with better human health both now and also probably in our ancestral past.”
“One reason for this is that they provide a significant source of carotenoids, powerful antioxidants involved in several aspects of health, including the capacity to mount an effective immune response without costly oxidating damage.”
“Our data parallel facial judgments, in which yellower more carotenoid rich skin, is found to be more attractive.”
The researchers explained that more tests were required to find out if the same holds true for women as well.
So how to attract a woman? By eating a salad! Yep, you can now cite this study and get munching on that salad!
Facebook
Disqus
Google + 
