The smell of virgin olive oil may signal the Mediterranean diet to you — and it. Researchers at the German Research Center for Food Chemistry have found what seems to be another health benefit of olive oil, already hailed for its antioxidants and for its heart-protecting oleic acid. Extra virgin olive oil may help a person feel satisfied thanks to its particular aroma.

Olive oil does have a distinctive scent, in part because one of its components is a compound called hexanal, which some thinks smells like fresh-cut grass.

Miso is a delicious fermented food that has been eaten in China and Japan for many centuries. Today it is a favorite of health minded people in the West because of its many anti-aging benefits. Miso and other fermented foods and drinks help build up the inner ecosystem and assure the digestive tract is amply supplied with beneficial bacteria. These bacteria help digest, synthesize, and assimilate nutrients so necessary for good health and anti-aging. They also strengthen the immune system, keeping it at the ready to fight infection and cancer.