Take smaller bites and chew slowly to give satiation-enhancing odors time to take effect; favor foods with complex scents.

The aroma of the food you eat tells your appetite when enough's enough.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—According to breaking research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the "sweet smell of success" for dieters who want better appetite control may actually be what food scientists refer to as "retronasal aroma release"—a food property that can trigger feelings of fullness and actually prompt you to stop eating.

THE DETAILS: Researchers from NIZO, a contract research company located in Ede, Netherlands, work for food, beverage, and ingredients companies all over the world. A NIZO team led by lead study author Rianne Ruijschop, PhD, a food technologist specializing in flavor-texture–related health, studied the possibility of using aroma as a trigger for inducing or increasing satiation (fullness). While their research methods are confidential, their findings are not—and what they found was, in its own way, both fascinating and delicious: They demonstrated that certain aromas that flow from the mouth to the throat (via swallowing) to the nose as you consume food and beverages (called "retronasal aroma release") accelerate the feeling of satiety and can even precipitate the end of a meal.

Read on to find out how to take advantage of satiating smells.