Do we lose our sense of taste as we age?

[CTyankee]

I ask because I used to have a healthy appetite but lately (I'm 78) I find I am often not that hungry. I do eat breakfast (cereal, milk and juice) but often just have a little bit of fruit for lunch and not very much (very small servings of veg, chicken or fish, and fruit for dessert).

My weight isn't an issue. I maintain it on very little food each day.

Damn. I used to love to eat...

[bearsfootball516]

1. Yes, we do.

It happens extremely slowly, but accelerates greatly when people reach their 70s. Taste buds die, and it become harder to taste foods.

[CTyankee]

3. my husband is 77 and he eats just fine...a little too fine, actually, as he's overweight.

[Siwsan]

2. My Aunt told us that she lost her sense of taste.

She was 98 when she died. I think the over-medication she was on affected her taste buds because it sounded like things didn't taste they way she remembered, more than that she couldn't taste anything.

And I had a boss who was 'getting on in years', and she said she was losing her sense of taste.

If you think about it, your sense of smell has so much to do with enjoyment of food - so that should be considered, too.

My taste buds got all screwed up when I was exposed to carbon monoxide. NOTHING tasted good for 3 or 4 months. That was a miserable time, indeed.

[Golden Raisin]

4. I don't know or claim to know the science on this but suspect

there's probably a lot of individual manifestations. I'm pushing 70. My appetite and portions have certainly diminished somewhat. I've definitely noticed a change in my tastebuds. Foods just don't taste the same. Across the entire spectrum (sweet/salty/sour, etc.) it all seems to have been sort of clouded over, dulled and less vibrant/piquant. Perhaps medications as well as age?

[CTyankee]

7. I have been on the same bp meds for a long time before my appetite waned...but I guess

that can happen as we age.

I try to concentrate on foods I usually love: shrimp, salad, Chinese food, occasional piece of pizza. I vary the fruits I eat, too.

I guess I should take vitamins...

[Freddie]

5. Unfortunately yes

That’s one reason why the very elderly love sweets. My dad lived to 92 but was not in good health the last couple years, he didn’t have much appetite but he loved getting a bag of mini chocolate bars, which I would always take to him at the assisted living place. At that age, you want chocolate, you deserve it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. I don't have as much appetite as I used to,

which is a good thing, since I'm a bit chunkier than I'd like to be. Oddly, I've found that I don't have much of a sweet tooth at all any more.

[nocoincidences]

8. Zinc is needed for adequate smelling. Lots of people are deficient

in it and a little supplementation as we age is a good idea, if you want to keep an appetite.

[left-of-center2012]

9. You equate sense of taste with appetite?

I think they're two different things.

[CTyankee]

10. Maybe I mean a sense of smell?

Smelling food cooking stimulates a feeling of appetite?

[JayhawkSD]

11. Smell and taste are closely related.

Actually, a portion of what we sense as taste is actually smell.

Yes, all senses dim as we age. Metabolism also slows. The signal that you are hungry is not generated by the nervous system, it is a chemical signal (a sort of hormone) generated in the stomach and transmitted by blood. That chemical is less profuse as we age.

That's why people who eat too fast overeat, by the way. Your stomach tells your brain when you are full, but it takes time for the signal to get there because of the time it takes to generate the chemical signal and the time it takes for the blood to carry the signal to the brain. If you eat slowly, you will not eat much while the signal is in transit, but if you eat rapidly you will eat way more food than your body really wants.