2006-08-04 04:52:18 · 5 answers · asked by Leslie 2 in Health ➔ Alternative Medicine
This is taken directly from the website below regarding Vanilla.
"In 1991 Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York announced in a news release that the fragrance of heliotropin – a sweet vanilla-like scent – was the most relaxing and pleasant of five fragrances tested for the reduction of anxiety and distress during a difficult medical procedure. With a grant from the Olfactory Research Fund, Drs. William Redd and Sharon Manne of Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Psychiatry Service, tested eighty-five patients who were undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as part of their initial workup.
During an MRI scan, patients lie motionless for up to an hour in the narrow cylindrical core of the scanner. Anxiety associated with this medical procedure causes up to 10 percent of patients to terminate their scans before completion.
Results of their initial tests showed that patients exposed to heliotropin while undergoing their MRI experienced 63% less overall anxiety than a control group of patients who were not given the fragrance during the scan."
2006-08-04 05:01:48 · answer #1 · answered by bottleblondemama 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The active stuff in Vanilla is called vanillin. There are a lot of vanilla scented products for aroma therapy such as candles, bath soaps, shower gels, essence stick, essence water etc.
www.vanilla.com
Natural vanilla extract is a mixture of several hundred different compounds in addition to vanillin. Artificial vanilla flavoring is a solution of pure vanillin, usually of synthetic origin. Because of the scarcity and expense of natural vanilla extract, there has long been interest in the synthetic preparation of its predominant component. The first commercial synthesis of vanillin began with the more readily available natural compound eugenol. Isomerization to isoeugenol, followed by oxidation provides vanillin. Currently, the industrial processes for creating vanillin involve formylation of guaiacol (by the Reimer-Tiemann reaction) and also the fermentation of lignin, a natural constituent of wood which is a byproduct of the paper industry.
2006-08-04 09:28:23 · answer #2 · answered by stroby 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depends on each individual person - vanilla is only soothing if you like the smell. Lavender is supposed to be soothing too, but I can't stand the stuff!!
2006-08-04 04:58:36 · answer #3 · answered by woodlands127 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it smells good? and the fragrance is soft when u have the right amount. also if you're as obessesed as i am about stephane lambiel, he apparently smells like vanilla =D
2006-08-04 05:14:24 · answer #4 · answered by wintermag52 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Interesting site below.
2006-08-04 07:19:58 · answer #5 · answered by Incongruous 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋