The chemical senses and nutrition: The role of taste and smell in the regulation of food intake

The chemical senses taste and smell play an important role in food choice and food intake. From a number of recent studies, it is clear that the sense of taste works as a macronutrient sensor in foods. Intensities of sweetness, savouriness and saltiness are related to the sugar/carbohydrate content, the protein content and the salt content of foods. Taste has a major impact on food intake. Whereas the basic tastes have a strong relation with macronutrients, this is much less true for odours. It is concluded that retronasal odour stimulation has little to do with satiation. A decrease in olfactory sensitivity can be seen as part of the food intake control mechanism, where appetite regulation hormones may be able to shift olfactory sensitivity to achieve nutritional homeostasis. Making foods harder and chewier will lead to a slower eating rate, higher satiating efficiency per calorie and subsequently also to a lower intake.