Sensa Weight Loss System Review

As I mentioned a few months back, I was sent both the Sensa Weight Loss System and a copy of the book, “The Sensa Weight-Loss Program”, to review. The program consists of sprinkling “Tastants” on your food, the theory being that it will stimulate the the “satiety center” of the brain, which in turn is supposed to help you lose weight. I have to admit that I fell off the wagon pretty early in the program – although the “Salty” shaker has no perceivable taste, I found it psychologically unappealing to shake white powder all over my food. I can detect a flavor in the “Sweet” shaker, and I don’t care for the way it affects my food. If I felt confident that it would make a real difference, it wouldn’t be a problem, but I felt like this was just another gimmick, since I am extremely skeptical of diet aids. However, after reading through the book, Sensa Weight-Loss Program by Alan Hirsch, M.D., F.A.C.P., I must say that my opinion has changed somewhat, and I am feeling inspired to give it another go.

Dr. Hirsch is not a dietitian, but actually a specialist in smell and taste disorders. He is the Neurological Director at the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, and began researching the possible link between smell and weight gain when he observed patients with brain injuries who had lost their sense of smell and subsequently gained weight. He embarked on a long series of trial studies to research the correlation between scent and weight loss, and eventually developed Sensa after observing trial groups having consistent success with the “Tastants”. I found this book to be quite fascinating for the explanations he provides about our sense of smell and how it is often mistaken as our sense of taste. Dr. Hirsch’s theory is that Sensa can positively influence the phenomenon of “Sensory Specific Satiety” – when you become full eating one type of food, but find you have room for another type of food. (An example of this is feeling overstuffed from a large dinner, but finding your appetite somewhat renewed when dessert appears.) Dr. Hirsch theorizes an evolutionary reason for this – that this sense guided our early ancestors to eat a varied diet.

It’s certainly an interesting read, and Dr. Hirsch makes many plausible points and appears to have credible studies and a science behind him. However, while his theories make sense on a lot of levels, it’s only one school of thought, and there are other arguments that could be made for some of the cause and effect discussed in the book. I give him kudos for the thorough trials that were conducted – one question I had was that perhaps Sensa is effective simply as a psychological reminder to eat less. However, Dr. Hirsch recounts an independent study using a control group that was given Sensa, versus a control group that received placebo sprinkles, and the Sensa group lost weight reliably while the placebo group lost none. Being ever the skeptic, I would like to see the footnotes detailing when, where, and who conducted these tests. I think we should take this for what it is – interesting research, not a magic cure. Dr. Hirsch is careful to point out that a balanced diet and exercise are always an absolute necessity for losing weight, and recommends this as a supplement, not a be-all and end-all in itself.

Personally, I found what I read to be intriguing, so I’m going to start using Sensa again in earnest. It’s essentially like using a seasoning on your food – it contains maltodextrin, tricalcum phosphate, silica, soy and milk ingredients, and natural and artificial flavorings – so I have nothing to lose, and who knows, maybe it will give me a little extra boost. As I’ve mentioned before, my primary issue is not overeating, but the unreliable schedule I developed as a result of work – IE getting takeout or fast food, skipping meals, and not having time to work out. However, I do eat larger portions that I used to pre-weight gain, so it is a contributing factor. And since I’m now working out regularly with a personal trainer and scheduling time to cook more balanced meals for myself, I’ve addressed the core issues and am open to any extra help I can get!

You can find more information on Sensa on their official website.