Starting around age 60, even healthy people will begin to experience a decline in their sense of taste. The decline is more pronounced by age 70 when the tongue’s taste buds become less sensitive and the nerves in the nose that register smell require greater stimulation. Scientists estimate that a person will lose 20% to 60% of their taste buds by the time they reach their golden years.
A Downward Spiral
Dulled taste and smell may result in a diminished appetite and malnutrition. Malnutrition can affect the turnover rate of taste bud cells (which normally replace themselves every ten days) and the integrity of the receptors. This may lead to further declines in one’s ability to taste and a lessened appetite. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and patients recovering from major surgeries are prone to this cycle.
The Real Bitterness of Old Age
The average person 65 years or older takes three or more drugs. Drugs that are secreted into the saliva can affect the taste system either by modifying taste transduction or by producing a taste of their own.
Some drugs will leave a perpetually unpleasant aftertaste. The antibiotic tetracycline can cause a lingering metallic taste if the capsule is allowed to dissolve on the back of the tongue. Aspirin can increase the sensitivity to bitter taste and there are several drugs that will cause a noticeable loss in the ability to distinguish among tastes.
Forgetting Flavor
Diseases trigger changes in taste and smell. Diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, even hypertension or cirrhosis of the liver can alter your sense of taste and smell. A decline in the ability to detect and remember smells is especially pronounced in people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Tips to Improve Taste Sensitivity
- Avoid overexposing your taste buds to any one flavor, as this can temporarily deaden your sensitivity. Switching from one food to another several times during a meal will help avoid taste bud desensitization.
- Avoid eating foods when they are very hot or very cold - flavors are less intense.
- After brushing your teeth, wait 10 to 15 minutes to eat. Lauryl sulfate, an ingredient in toothpaste will trigger a drop in taste sensitivity.
- Ask your doctor about the potential side effects of any newly prescribed drug.
2 comments ↓
“Avoid overexposing your taste buds to any one flavor, as this can temporarily deaden your sensitivity. Switching from one food to another several times during a meal will help avoid taste bud desensitization.”
Interestingly, humans appear to have a built-in “sensory-specific satiety” mechanism that helps ensure we eat a variety of foods. As people eat more of a particular food in the course of a short period of time (such as a meal), they come to like its taste less, but the desire for other foods offered remains the same. This mechanism allowed for the human to get a variety of nutrients/foods in a time when food wasn’t as abundant. But since we’re no longer in such a “primitive” environment, we need to learn balance. As you well-expressed, aging will alter our taste buds. As a result, our sensory-specific satiety mechanism may not be as in-tact, either. I wonder if there is any other mechanism, aside from taste, that would guarantee nutritional adequacy in the elderly.
This is a terrific article that serves as a reminder that espresso lovers better enjoy it now.
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