Calm as Vanilla

The reason you feel so good eating vanilla ice cream could be that you can smell it too. Research shows it’s about the best of scents to relieve anxiety.

Vanilla, a flavouring derived from orchids, is considered a strong aphrodisiac and has been used medicinally, time and again, to calm an uneasy stomach or to treat respiratory disorders. Vanilla has also found widespread use in aromatherapy, for its soothing properties to the nervous system and mind. More recently, however, research has shown that some vanilla compounds have strong properties that can prevent cancer and work at a deep level to reverse early cancer through a mechanism of DNA strand repair.

Though there are many compounds present in the extracts of vanilla, the compound predominantly responsible for the characteristic flavour and smell of vanilla is vanillin. Another minor component of vanilla essential oil is piperonal (heliotropin). Piperonal and other substances affect the odour of natural vanilla.

In 1991, the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York announced that the fragrance of heliotropin, a sweet vanilla-like scent, was the most relaxing and pleasant of the five fragrances tested for reduction of anxiety during a difficult medical procedure. In a study, eighty-five patients who went through a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan were exposed to heliotropin. Patients have to sit motionless for upto an hour for the MRI and anxiety is the most common reason for them to terminate the scan midway. In the study, patients experienced 63 per cent less anxiety than those who were not given the fragrance during the scan.

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“Basically, vanilla essence is made from herbs which have anti oxidant properties and phenols. All these help in the prevention of cancer,” says Dr Sakshi Chawla, senior dietician, Fortis, Noida.

Vanilla essence comes in two forms: the extract of the seedpods, and the far cheaper synthetic essence which is a solution of synthetic vanillin in ethanol. Natural vanilla is a mixture of several hundred different compounds, versus synthetic vanillin which is derived from phenol and is of high purity. Vanilla was first made in 1865.

Apart from calming the nerves, vanilla also calms an uneasy stomach. “If vanilla essence is mixed in a cold drink or shake, it helps in neutralising the acidity in the stomach,” says Dr Chawla. “It is a stress reliever and helps one pacify.”

A recent study at the St George’s Hospital in London indicates that vanilla may help lose weight. In the study, overweight people who were given vanilla scented skin patches found that their sweet intake was reduced, resulting in bigger weight loss than those who were only given dietary advice.

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Vanilla, as a mood enhancer, has been used on animals as well. A study at Tubingen University in Germany showed that vanilla fragrance reduced the startle reflex in humans and animals. Several studies have confirmed that vanilla can bring back appetite in dogs after surgery. Vanilla aroma and flavour also encourage calm and raise the appetite of sows and growing piglets.