A candle to curb my chocolate cravings
4.10.2021
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
I’ve tried so many things to keep my sweet tooth in check and reduce my chocolate intake – and failed miserably. My latest experiment: inhaling a chocolate bar instead of eating it. Will the «Chocolate Bar» by Candlecan actually work?
During the colder months, my craving for sweets increases, and I can’t keep away from mood lifter numero uno: chocolate. But this time, I want to resist the temptation. Firstly, I want to keep my sugar consumption in check. Secondly, I recently read that it’s not the ingredients in chocolate that lift your spirits but its properties. At least this is what a study carried out by Oxford University Press found. One of these properties is the smell. If that’s true, will I manage to curb my cravings with a chocolate scent alone? I’m more than willing to find out with the «Chocolate Bar» candle by Candlecan. It’s said to smell so sweet it replaces candy.
«Imagine if you could enjoy a chocolate bar without the extra calories,» says the manufacturer. Happy to oblige. And so are others, it seems. The candle is currently sold out. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one anyway.
Candlecan – this chocolate’s on fire
The candle comes in a gold can that makes me think of tuna or cat food. But opening it reveals something that looks almost exactly like a bar of chocolate. The surface of the brown wax is divided into rectangular segments.
«The lid protects the candle from dust and preserves its fragrance for longer,» the description reads. Personally, I prefer the tin without the lid. That’s why I remove it.
New ritual
So instead of getting a bar of chocolate out of the fridge whenever my sweet tooth bites, I now light my Candlecan. Whether its after lunch or to go with my cup of coffee, this candle creates a cosy atmosphere – not in my belly, but in the room. The candle is prettier than your standard tea light, and the golden tin accentuates the warm candlelight. This new ritual is a great distraction, and something I much prefer to snacking on sweets and feeling bad about it.
The scent is sweet. A little too sweet for my taste. My favourite chocolate is the dark kind. But it does seem to work. This imaginary bar of chocolate does curb my craving. On rare occasions, I’ll go for fruit as a replacement. But as fruit contains less sugar, I also feel less guilty. However, should I go overboard with the fructose, Candlecan has other scents ready to wean me off the stuff – cherry, tangerine and some others.
The idea behind using perfume to influence your appetite makes total sense. After all, taste greatly depends on smell. A study by Flinders University analysed if food and non-food smells can curb unwanted cravings. The 67 female students who took part in the study were asked to sniff one of three scents (green apple, jasmine or water) while looking at colourful photographs. The jasmine scent reduced the craving for chocolate more than the other scents. The study did not say if men were influenced by the odorant in the same way. This means that non-food odorants might be able to manipulate your appetite. Having said that, there’s no evidence that a chocolate craving necessarily needs to be fought with a chocolate scent. I have another explanation for the success of my little experiment.
Chocolate makes me happy – but so does resisting
How is it that I'm in a good mood without chocolate but with a candle? I think it’s down to my newly gained self-control. Another study, conducted by the University of Chicago and mentioned in the US-American magazine The Atlantic, confirms: «As they go about their daily lives, people with a lot of self-control appear to generally be in higher spirits; in the long run, they're happier with their lives,» it says. «People high in self-control . . . don’t waste time fighting inner battles over whether or not to eat a second piece of cake.» After my self-experiment, I can confirm this.
These days, I light a candle when the munchies strike. It remains to be seen if this will keep me away from all the temptations in the run up to Christmas. If all else fails, I’ll get myself a jasmine-scented candle and give the whole thing another go.
Survey
Would you try this candle?
- Yes, I love the scent of chocolate.33%
- No. I'd rather eat a bar of chocolate than smell it.52%
- Maybe. But I prefer unscented candles.17%
The competition has ended.
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
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