When it comes to food, your sense of taste and smell go hand in hand. Smell and taste add to pleasure of life by exciting a desire to eat. Yet, as we age, these senses diminish at varying rates and to different degrees among individuals. Fortunately, you possess fully functioning common sense, which dictates that taking action will lower your risk.
Scientists claim that your sense of smell and taste are at its peak from your thirties to your sixties. After that, the decline happens which is so gradual that you barely notice it. On the other hand, a few incidents like a blow to the head or a car accident can have a direct negative impact on them. A declined sense of smell and taste can affect your health as people tend to follow less healthful diets when their ability to smell and taste is impaired. Also, your sense of smell keeps you save from everything from gas leak to rotten food.
Smell
Of all our senses, smell is our most primal and the most complex. The sense of smell is triggered by Olfactory cells which are present high up the nose after your nostrils. You can have about 10 million olfactory receptors when your sense of smell is at its peak. This can help your brain to distinguish between 10,000 to 20,000 distinct scents.
As you age, you experience loss of sensitivity and deterioration in your receptors. German researchers have revealed that impairment of the sense of smell affects 50 percent of people over age 65, and 75 percent over age 80. Some people are born with a loss of smell whereas there are other factors like respiratory infections, sinus cavities and hormonal disturbances can result in a temporary decline of this particular sense.
Prolonged exposure to harmful chemicals like insecticides and tobacco smoking can cause a permanent decline in the sense of smell. There are also various other factors that can cause a permanent loss of smell like tumors, damage to the nerves, brain disorders etc.
In order to preserve your sense of smell, you can undertake the following exercises:
- Keep alcohol to a minimum. Your sense of smell is impaired as your blood alcohol levels rise.
- To boost your sense of smell, try eating zinc-rich foods, such as oysters, lentils, sunflower seeds, etc. Deficiency in the mineral zinc is often linked with hyposmia (impaired sense of smell).
- Stay away from stinky smells. Prolonged exposure to bad smells tends to numb your ability to smell. Use a napkin or wear a mask over your nose and mouth to filter out some of the bad smells if you must be exposed to such odors on a prolonged basis.
- Quit smoking. Along with other health hazards, smoking can cause long-term damage to your senses of taste and smell, especially if the habit is maintained over a long period of time. This occurs so gradually that it may go unnoticed.
- Exercising daily enhances the sense of smell. Studies suggest that your sense of smell is higher after exercise.
- Breathing exercise like pranayam can open up tiny capillaries in your nose which will increase your sense of smell.
- Because of the higher moisture content in the air, your sense of smell is strongest in the summer and spring. Use a humidifier in the winter to increase the moisture in the air. This leads to increased moisture in your nose, which improves the sense of smell.
Taste
The main organ that is responsible for this sense is your tongue. The tongue has many taste receptors (aka Gustatory cells) situated in taste buds on its surface. These are clustered around the mouth and throat and react to anything that is mixed with the saliva. These cells send information to nearby nerve fibers, which send messages to the brain. Surprisingly, there are only four types of receptors on our tongues - sweet, sour, salt and bitter. These are responsible for the thousands of flavors that we taste daily.
A dry mouth is one of the major reasons of the loss of taste. The receptors only work if the food is mixed with saliva. With no saliva, the receptors cannot distinguish between two different tastes resulting in a bland tasting food. Thus food always tastes bland when you are down with fever. Other major causes include: damage to the tongue, nutritional deficiencies (especially the lack of Copper and Zinc in your diet), heavy smoking etc.
In order to preserve your sense of taste, you can undertake the following exercises:
- Take time to chew your food thoroughly before swallowing. This not only helps in better digestion but also gives your food greater exposure to your taste buds, which allows you to fully experience the taste of your food.
- Draw a small amount of air into your mouth when chewing food or drinking tea or coffee. This increases the rate at which the aromas ascend towards your nasal cavity. Wine tasters do this frequently while tasting wine.
- Try different types of food with various spices and flavors. Instead of salt, try enhancing food aromas by flavoring your foods with fresh and fragrant herbs, spices, salsas, chutneys and healthy sauces. This will keep your olfactory nerves from getting bored, thus enhancing your taste buds.
- Avoid very hot foods and fluids as they can damage your taste buds.
- Drink plenty of water as a dry mouth can affect your taste buds adversely.
- Processed foods are made tastier by adding chemicals, high fat, high sugar and high salt. Consuming processed foods regularly can practically make you immune to taste. Reset your taste every once in a while for sugar and salt by cutting them out for at least a week. Once you switch back, you'll suddenly taste all the salt and sugar you were overlooking.
- Keep your tongue clean.
Our sense naturally declines as we age. Fortunately, taking action will lower your risk and perhaps even put you ahead. Everything in balance and moderation is the key to sustained good health.
