Smell Research Says Love Is in the Air; Smell and Taste Expert Reveals Secret Scents That Spell Attraction for This Valentine’s Day

CHICAGO,IL -- February 7, 2005 -- Don’t look for romance this Valentine’s Day; instead, start smelling for it. That’s the advice of Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurologist and psychiatrist, founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, and nationally recognized smell and taste expert.


Dr. Hirsch is available to comment on how scent combinations affect physical attraction and physical arousal. According to Dr. Hirsch, among the most “attractive” scents for women include:

-- Good & Plenty(R) candy and cucumbers

-- Baby powder

-- Good & Plenty(R) candy and banana nut bread

Attractive scents for men include:

-- Lavender and pumpkin pie

-- Licorice and doughnuts

-- Cinnamon buns

While no scents were found to turn off men, women’s turn offs include barbeque smoke and men’s colognes.

Neurologist and psychiatrist, Alan R. Hirsch, M.D., F.A.C.P., is a nationally recognized smell and taste expert. He has written more than 200 articles on the psychological power of scent and how it affects human behavior. He has been published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and numerous other prestigious journals. Dr. Hirsch has also appeared as a featured guest on dozens of syndicated television programs as well as in print publications.

Dr. Hirsch graduated from University of Michigan Medical School. He is board certified in neurology and psychiatry and is an assistant professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago.

As the neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, Dr. Hirsch puts his theories to the test in a variety of documented studies. The foundation functions in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of smell and taste-related disorders. In addition, the staff’s research extends to the effects of odors and flavors on human emotion, mood, behavior and disease states. The foundation has performed studies on the effects of smell/taste on weight loss, sleep, consumer preferences and sexual habits, among many other topics.

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