Are Men and Women Different?

If you think your man is immune to the smell of his socks…you might be right. When it comes to the five senses, Dr. Oz says men and women have different strengths and weaknesses. "Women have a better sense of smell, especially during ovulation when estrogen levels soar," Dr. Oz says.

The way something smells also affects the sexes differently. Dr. Oz says research has found that the smells of pumpkin pie and lavender make men feel more sexual, while ladies get excited by the scents of cucumber and licorice. "Smell is important because it signifies to us at a very deep level that we're in a home—in a safe environment," he says.

Women also have more taste buds than men, which makes them more sensitive to sweet, sour, salty and bitter flavors.

Higher levels of testosterone give men the edge in painful situations but the female body compensates during childbirth. "An extra boost of estrogen during pregnancy allows them to endure childbirth…and even want to do it again," Dr. Oz says.

You can trace differences in vision back to caveman days, Dr. Oz says. Naturally, women have better peripheral vision because they gathered food for their families. Men are born with stronger straight-on vision for hunting purposes.

Dr. Oz says men are also 17 times more likely to be color-blind than women. "Color blindness is probably on the X chromosomes," he says. "Women have two copies, so they both have to be bad for a woman to be color-blind."

Why does this vision abnormality exist? Dr. Oz says people who are color-blind can see through camouflage more effectively. "Your ancestors were [probably] more effective in hunting because, in a complex background, we can focus on the prey," he says. "So there was a value of being color-blind, but not anymore."