Odortype

In the same way that your brain and your fingerprints are unique, you possess a unique odor. (Those with a kinesthetic sensory system are especially sensitive to odortype.) According to researchers, your odortype, your genetically determined body odor, acts like an olfactory nametag. This helps to distinguish one person from another. It may even play a part in your selection of a partner or mate. Your odortype is determined in part by genes in a genomic region called the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which plays a role in the immune system. The type of food you eat can influence your body odor; garlic for example, especially if you eat a lot of it. Can you completely mask or alter your odortype by what you eat? Apparently not. Studies have shown that chemical analyses could still detect an underlying odortype. According to study author Gary Beauchamp, a behavioral biologist, this suggests that electric sensors can be developed to detect individual odor types as well as body odor differences linked with diseases. These sensors potentially could assist even with early detection and rapid diagnosis of conditions such as skin and lung cancers and perhaps some specific viral diseases.
 

Physical Touch

 

Touch is part of the kinesthetic system, which also includes a keen perception of temperature, odors, the feeling of clothing against the skin, and some types of perfume. Perfume is a bit tricky because their sense of smell is usually very acute and they like or dislike and odor quite quickly. For people in your own household, you can usually tell how they respond to touch. It needs to be gentle, caring, and genuinely affectionate. They recognize non-affirming touch very quickly. You are often ahead of the game to give them a gift certificate for clothing, as they tend to wear only what feels good against their skin. Some kinesthetics love to get a massage and a gift certificate for a massage is often well received. If you already know the type of soap fragrance or even perfume they prefer, you are ahead of the game. Physical distancing has put a crimp into physical touch as for the 20 percent of the population believed to be kinesthetic, this can be even painful. If they like satin pillowcases, they make a nice gift. Some kinesthetics really like the new “weighted blankets.” If so, that’s another option.

Words of Affirmation

One definition of affirmation is simply a positive statement, declaration, assertion, or proclamation. Individuals with an auditory sensory preference like to “hear” and/or “read” words of affirmation. For example, you might make a short verbal recording on your smart phone listing several specific things that you value about that person. He or she can listen to it as often as they want. Or you can write a card or an email and state the same thing in writing. Interestingly, studies have shown that when you know a person well and receive something from them in writing, you may hear their voice in your head as you read, especially if you have an auditory preference. If the person loves music and has a special artist or song that gives them a lift, find a recording and send it to them with a note that you know they like listening to this, etc. You could also get them a book on a topic they are interested in—paperback or audiobook. The audiobook would allow the person to just relax and listen and not even have to read! 

Love Languages and the Brain

Recently I read an old book—well it was published in 1992 I think –about five languages of love and they don’t really make sense to me: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch. Supposedly everyone has a primary and secondary “love language.” Would you please explain them to me in terms of brain function? I can give only a few gifts this year and would like them to be meaningful, something that matches the person’s brain.

I have not read that book. Nevertheless, here are some comments that may give you a leg up. No doubt you are familiar with the sensory systems. Growing up most people learned the three main systems: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (although more have been identified.). Unimpaired, humans can use all systems but most if not all are also believed to have a preference. That simply means that some types of stimuli get a person’s attention more quickly than others, registering faster and more intensely in their brain. My brain’s opinion is that if you know their sensory preference, gift-giving is much easier.

COVID Toes?

My cousin was diagnosed with COVID-19 and the only symptom was something the doctor called COVID Toes. Have you ever heard of such a thing?

 Recently, yes. AARP printed an article about this in a recent newsletter. Some have described COVID toes as similar to chilblains. The list of symptoms is growing and these may not even be all of them. 

·         Fever

·         Cough

·         Shortness of Breath

·         Loss of taste or smell

·         Runny nose or nasal congestion

·         Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and severe appetite loss

·         Headaches, dizziness, and confusion

·         Fever or chills

·         Coughing

·         Hallucinations

·         Blood clots

·         Hearing loss

·         High blood sugar

·         Sore throat

·         Muscle or body aches

·         COVID toes

CDC reference (although COVID toes may not be on it yet):  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

More Lexophilia Laughs

 

 I dropped out of a “History of Communism” class because of lousy Marx.

A cartoonist was found dead in his home. Details are sketchy. 

Haunted French pancakes give me the crêpes. 

When chemists die, they barium. 

All the toilets in New York's police stations have been stolen. The police have nothing to go on.

  A rubber-band pistol was confiscated from an algebra class. It was a weapon of math disruption. 

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. 

Police were called to a day care, where a three-year-old was resisting a rest. 

A hole has been found in the nudist-camp wall. Police are looking into it.

What is a healthier “carb?”

All carbs are not created equal. Sugar is actually a brain toxin and does not meet the definition of a healthier carb. Refined and processed foods high in sugar and refined grains are unhealthy, while whole, fiber-rich foods are healthy. Here are examples:

   1.    Oats, as in rolled or steel-cut oats for cereal

2.    Buckwheat, which is not a wheat but is used in some cereals as well as buckwheat noodles

3.    Whole fruits such as bananas, blueberries, oranges, and apples

4.    Chickpeas, the main ingredient in humus

5.    Quinoa, a seed that is used as a grain

    6.    Sweet potatoes, brown rice, other whole grains 

That can get you started. Read labels. Carefully! Look for plant-based foods in as natural a state as possible—with little or no added sugar.