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Do Your Taste Buds Ever Go On Strike In Your Older Years?
Sure. When I got diabetes around 60 years old.
One symptom of diabetes type 2 (the one I have) is that your various senses start packing it up. They just don't work very well any more - if they work at all.
I wonder how many old people have gotten a mild form of diabetes that hasn't been diagnosed yet, and are noticing that their sense of taste (or smell) doesn't work as well as it used to?
age 65 female here, and about two months ago gave up caffeine.
since giving up caffeine i have noticed that food really tastes delicious. even very plain foods like a potato or green beans or spinach taste absolutely delicious.
i find this marvelous, because when i had Covid a couple years ago i lost my sense of taste, and even though it came back after a few months, there were still periods of where it just disappeared. I could be cooking a favorite dish, tasting it while i was preparing it, and then by the time i sat down to eat it, taste was gone and i could not taste it at all.
so it is a welcome development to have everything now taste delicious.
Not on strike so much but the sense of taste will dull as you age, especially if you've abused it with cigarettes and alcohol.
I do still smoke, but not very much anymore, and I'm sure that may have something to do with it. But my 80YO neighbor hasn't smoked in 40 years and yet her taste buds aren't working properly. At any rate, I could sure afford to lose 20+ pounds so we shall see.
Yes I have noticed a change in my sense of taste. I also have become a lot pickier about my food. For instance I always ordered a hamburger medium rare but not anymore -- I always go for medium. Just a little pink is fine with me. I still love salt and use a lot of it -- no problem because I have hereditary very low blood pressure -- my cariologist said she rarely tells people to eat more salt but she is fine with me because of my low blood pressure. It also seems like I can taste chemicals in food more -- like I have an increased sensitivity. I now prefer simpler, fresher foods -- a good salad, a fresh mango or pear, a highly seasoned but plain baked piece of chicken. Some of it might be my stomach which is more sensitive to fatty or fried foods. I figure it is all age -- even the digestive system slows down. I know I cannot eat the quantities I used to when younger -- my stomach actually rebels.
It might be interesting to see if this product "wakes up" your taste buds. It was featured on Shark Tank - a berry that you chew, and it binds with & blocks some specific receptors on your tongue for about 30-45 minutes or so - and the end result is it makes many foods taste exceptionally sweet until it wears off. I don't recall the particulars, but watch the episode as the entrepreneurs explain how it works. IIRC, the sharks sampled the berry then would bite into for example, a lemon (which now tasted like very sweet orange candy), a pickle (turned a dill pickle into sweet candy), even apple cider vinegar, etc.
I used to love pretty much everything - not any more.
I stopped eating most meat around that time, except for some seafoods. I couldn't stomach them anymore. It also bothered me just looking at them - with the fat, gristle, tendons etc. Reminded me that it was a corpse!
Of course everything sweet still tastes good! When my mom was elderly and sick she really just wanted sweets, and Burger King She always had a Whopper Jr. which she cut in half, and a chocolate shake. And for candy she wanted chocolate cream drops, the old-fashioned kind.
So many times i'll make something to eat that i used to love and it tastes like crap. But i keep trying new things in hopes i'll find NEW favorites. I discovered sautee'd Fiddleheads here in Maine that i'd never eaten, and i love them <3
My taste buds seem to become more sensitive as I get older. My tolerances for sugar, salt and spicy-hot foods get lower and lower with time. However, I do like non-hot spices with a collection of hundreds of spices to try international recipes.
I am not sure whether this is due to our 'healthy' eating habit or age. It's very hard to find any restaurant foods that we like. I always check for sugar and sodium contents of packaged food.
We don't eat cured meat often but when we do like corned beef on St. Patrick day or ham for Easter, I have to pressure cook the meat with a small amount of water for 10-15 minutes, let it soak in hot water for a while then dump out the salty water before using it in a recipe. The ham which I baked last Easter with a (bourbon, maple syrup, thyme, garlic, pepper and Dijon mustard) glaze was delicous.
We used to love French and Italian pastries but in our last few trips, I find them way too sweet to enjoy. We have not bought donuts, cakes, cookies, pies or baked goods in ages. The same goes with commerically made jams or jellies. I use low-sugar pectin to make our own jams whih has only about 1/4 to 1/3 of the regular jam recipes.
So the only problem with my current taste buds is that it's getting harder and harder to enjoy non homemade foods.
My taste buds seem to become more sensitive as I get older. My tolerances for sugar, salt and spicy-hot foods get lower and lower with time. However, I do like non-hot spices with a collection of hundreds of spices to try international recipes.
I am not sure whether this is due to our 'healthy' eating habit or age. It's very hard to find any restaurant foods that we like. I always check for sugar and sodium contents of packaged food.
We don't eat cured meat often but when we do like corned beef on St. Patrick day or ham for Easter, I have to pressure cook the meat with a small amount of water for 10-15 minutes, let it soak in hot water for a while then dump out the salty water before using it in a recipe. The ham which I baked last Easter with a (bourbon, maple syrup, thyme, garlic, pepper and Dijon mustard) glaze was delicous.
We used to love French and Italian pastries but in our last few trips, I find them way too sweet to enjoy. We have not bought donuts, cakes, cookies, pies or baked goods in ages. The same goes with commerically made jams or jellies. I use low-sugar pectin to make our own jams whih has only about 1/4 to 1/3 of the regular jam recipes.
So the only problem with my current taste buds is that it's getting harder and harder to enjoy non homemade foods.
I hear ya on the salty and sweet. I've decreased my salt intake so now some things I used to eat on a regular basis like processed meats taste too salty so I eliminated them from my diet. I almost always buy the low sodium option for things when that's available.
I love sweets, all baked goods but being in the upper South, traditional sweets are sometimes just too sweet for me. Sweet tea is served in every restaurant here but I avoid it also. It's also too sweet for me.
Give me a real French or Italian pastry any day of the week and I will think I'm in heaven. Those are never too sweet
Last edited by marino760; 04-16-2024 at 05:38 PM..
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She always had a Whopper Jr. which she cut in half, and a chocolate shake. And for candy she wanted chocolate cream drops, the old-fashioned kind.