So much of our experience of the holiday season has to do with the infusion of pleasing smells associated with this time of year. These scents of the holidays have become a part of our sensory vocabulary. Just the smell of the pine needles from a newly cut Christmas tree, of cinnamon and peppermint, and of cloves and orange can trigger wonderful memories for people the world over.
It is said that smell is the most immediate of our senses, that memories are evoked by smell more quickly than by sight or touch. It is no wonder that a common thread among those who celebrate our traditional holidays is to fill the home with these scents as a means of getting us all in the holiday spirit.
“Aromas can take us anywhere,” says Mandy Aftel in her newly published book, “Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent.” “They are a magic carpet we can ride to hidden worlds, not only to other times and places but deep within ourselves, beneath the surface of daily life.”
For more than two decades, Aftel has built a career as an artisan perfumer, selling her growingly popular exclusive blends of scents crafted from natural ingredients. In her extensively researched book, she profiles what she believes to be the key natural landmark scents: cinnamon, mint, frankincense, ambergris and jasmine.
What she may well have accomplished in her literary journey is to put the multibillion-dollar fragrance industry in a much-needed nosedive. Her book is an important reminder of the enormous and well-documented power of everyday ancient natural ingredients and their well-deserved place as fragrances – the natural smells, not any candied replicas – as well as in health, well-being and ritual.
Take peppermint. William Wrigley Jr. stumbled upon its power when he added its essential oil to chewing gum. Its introduction to toothpaste soon followed. People liked the taste. They felt invigorated by it. But something more was occurring than taste, as science would later suggest. In several ancient cultures, mint was commonly used as an aid to calm an upset stomach. In ancient Rome, it was believed that wearing a crown of fresh mint could stimulate the mind.
A 2013 study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience confirmed that peppermint is good for soothing the stomach and even dealing with irritable bowel syndrome. You can also reap its benefits simply by smelling it. In the 1990s, researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that just a whiff of peppermint helped test subjects concentrate and do better on tasks that required sustained concentration.
According to research from Wheeling Jesuit University, the smell or flavor of peppermint can help cognitive functions such as reasoning, problem-solving, concept formation, judgment, attention span and memory.
At the time Jesus was born, frankincense and myrrh had a long history for their proven antiseptic and inflammatory properties and were considered effective remedies for everything from toothaches to leprosy. The wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus that they considered gifts fit for a king. These plant-derived treasures were of such value that at the time, they may have been worth as much as their weight in the third gift, gold.
Researchers are drawing more and more on this centuries-old knowledge to develop modern treatments for a variety of disorders. Frankincense has been investigated as a possible treatment for some cancers, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, anxiety and asthma, among other conditions.
Yet frankincense may still be best-known for its use as an essence in rituals. This is something also covered in Aftel’s book. She notes the biblical descriptions of its usage and the specific instructions for compounding it given to Moses by God.
When people light incense today, it is generally just to cover a smell. When you look at it burn, know that smoke rising toward the skies once was used to communicate messages to heaven.
As if we needed any more proof of the truth of the benefits of even some of the oldest customs, a recent study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shows that the smoke of frankincense may help in relieving depression and anxiety.
Rather than bombard ourselves with artificial scents concocted in some laboratory, let’s use the natural scents of the holidays, the ones we hold so dear, to move us to return to something more natural – something authentic. Let’s return to something that feeds our imagination and memory, that restores our health.
Write to Chuck Norris with your questions about health and fitness. Follow Chuck Norris through his official social media sites, on Twitter @chucknorris and Facebook’s “Official Chuck Norris Page.” He blogs at ChuckNorrisNews.blogspot.com.
