Anyone else getting on in years and noticing the taste in food is

[applegrove]

gone?

[chillfactor]

1. Yep!

at 75 I think my taste buds have died...nothing tastes good any more. I have a terrible time grocery shopping trying to find something to eat that I would like.

[applegrove]

3. I ignored it for a bit. Now I realize I have been eating fatty food for the last year

to try and compensate. I'm only 51. I'll have to follow recipes exactly now. I would make everything too salty if left to my own taste buds.

[SharonAnn]

11. The taste isn't as pronouced. And I use more salt.

[SharonAnn]

12. It can be a side effect of medication.

[JudyM]

21. And zinc deficiency.

[Binkie The Clown]

2. I'm 71 and food still tastes wonderful to me. My 95 year old mom complains she can't taste things.nt

[applegrove]

4. I'm 51.

[True Dough]

17. How is the weight loss progressing?

Finding food bland should help, no?

[applegrove]

19. I'm trying. Now that I know I can't taste I would hope. I ate Caesar salad

a few times this week. I know it is not diet food but it is a start. I have to get off bread and dairy. I like sushi but found out it it is about 500 calories a roll. I need to shrink my stomach. Another week another time to try again.

[True Dough]

22. That's the way to look at it

Some days (or weeks) are better than others. But if you make gradual reductions and substitutions, it will come along.

As for sushi, I never touch it, but because I don't find it appetizing. I never knew it could be so calorie dense. I had to Google it but I only found one type of roll that hits 500 cals -- the shrimp tempura roll. Is that your favorite?

[applegrove]

23. That's what I have. Is it so much more than all the others? I did not

think of that. But I supposed fried shrimp and avocado probably are.

[True Dough]

24. Check this out:

http://www.sushifaq.com/sushi-health/calories-in-sushi/

Cucumber rolls are as low as 136 calories. Probably not as tasty though.

[applegrove]

25. Thanks that is great. I'll try the tuna roll next time. The spicy one.

[pangaia]

29. Eat sashimi or nigiri...

[TexasBushwhacker]

36. I started using the SparkPeople app to record everything

Just keeping a record of everything makes me eat healthier. I also gave up ALL grains, not just bread. I have much less craving for carbs and sugar in general. I do eat one potato a day, either white or sweet, more for the potassium than anything.

[trof]

54. 76. Same here. Food tastes great.

Love to try new recipes.
Check out Almazan Kitchen on youtube.

[Warpy]

5. Part of it is due to aging

but a complete loss of taste should be investigated by a doctor.

Mine has decreased a bit but it's not gone. Part of it is altitude, unless you put hot stuff in it, food tastes like airline food up here, so I use a lot of chile and generally overseason. Heaven help me if I ever move back to sea level.

[Big Blue Marble]

6. Could be a zinc deficiency. N/T

[elfin]

7. Not really, but do like spicy foods more than I did before. EOM

[csziggy]

10. I've gotten so many spicy foods are not for me

While I generally love the flavor, some spices - especially anything on the Scoville scale of heat - do nasty things to my insides.

Hot peppers have always been nasty to me - I blister just from a touch, but now some other spices tend to have unpleasant effects. At least I can still enjoy ginger, garlic, turmeric and a good assortment of other spices. Cooking for myself I can be safe but anymore with the increased popularity of Cajun and other ethnic foods eating out can be an unhappy adventure.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Yes, but I have sinus issues.

[democratisphere]

9. Many fruits and vegetables have been so hybridized for size and weight

that they have become tasteless.

[pansypoo53219]

13. i get seasonal or organic food. better flavor + last better. store apples? hell no. frozen fruit.

plus i cook. butcher for meat. also already a supertaster. less hot stuff. organic tates so much better.

[applegrove]

14. I've heard that.

[brush]

15. That's so true

Especially tomatoes from the grocery store.

I used to love Red Delicious apples but now they are hardly even sweet anymore like they used to be.

Lemons from the grocery store are another one. I've been getting over a cold and have been drinking hot tea with lemon and honey.

The grocery store lemon was the usual... sour but that's about it. I just happen to have a lemon tree in the backyard and found two lemons on it and was able to compare.

The home grown lemon was a darker yellow and just smelling it was like perfume.

It has a tangy smell with a bit of sweetness to it. Same with the taste—so much better than the store-bought one.

[Warpy]

30. Most fruit is now picked green and hard

and ripened with ethylene gas, something that makes the peel look attractive but does little to develop the sugars.

Most gardeners have done the same thing after they've pulled the last green tomatoes off the vine, putting them into a paper bag with an apple will ripen them right up, but the flavor won't be the same as those ripened on the vine.

I've given up on "fresh fruit in season" because it's all artificially ripened and tastes like cardboard. Canned or frozen is much more flavorful and goes a longer way. Same goes with tomatoes. They haven't fouled up watermelons yet, probably because those will keep for a while when they're fully ripe.

[NightWatcher]

16. In my prime I could eat 10 Krystals (White Castle). Now 3 fill me up, 4 make me ill.

I haven't lost taste but my metabolism has gone to shit since I hit 41.

If I eat a decent breakfast, I won't eat till a late dinner or snack.

[Aristus]

18. No.

Do you smoke? That will do it...

[applegrove]

20. I did smoke. Quit almost 9 years ago. Got my taste buds back for a bit.

[pbmus]

26. Get a good multi b complex and some good probiotics

Your digestive tract starts with you mouth and ends at your anus. Taste buds regenerate every 3 days wen healthy.

And diet wise cut down on the salt and sugar...

[applegrove]

27. Yes. I have some Balkan yogurt and multivitamins.

[pbmus]

28. Not enough, get good b complex and at least 2 probiotics...

And make sure you are eliminating every day..

And when you eat try healthy on time everyday ..in other words try to not eat helter skelter

I am 70++ and taste everything just fine.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

31. Not yet. I'm 68.

At high altitude (Hi Warpy ) you do need to add more seasoning. I know when I make cake or cookies, I increase the vanilla by about 50%, and at that I'm using the good Mexican vanilla.

Also, fruit has been being picked green for decades now. I gave up years ago on buying peaches, because they have no flavor. Actually, if you walk by the fruit display and you can't smell the fruit, that's a discouraging sign. Apples aren't as bad, although I'm not as familiar with the various types as I should be. But not that long ago it seems as if all you could buy were Golden Delicious or Red Delicious, and now there are at least ten different varieties available to me in the grocery store.

[LuckyLib]

63. Two Minnesota developed apple varietals are Sweet Tango and Honey Crisp.

They are wonderful in flavor. Starting to see them in other states, grown other places. Yum! Haven't bought a Delicious apple in years -- no flavor.

[No Vested Interest]

32. Still enjoying a hearty soup or casserole, and, sad to say, sweets. nt

[Freddie]

33. Some foods have changed over the years

As others have noted, many fruits in the supermarket are tasteless. I only buy peaches (and tomatoes) at the farm stand in season.
But many of our (mostly unhealthy) processed foods have had subtle formula changes over the years, mostly in an effort to reduce sodium content. When I was a kid I loved Campbell's Chunky Beef Soup. Tried it recently - yuck! Definitely changed as my taste buds are still good at 60. Other foods have changed too.

[Ron Obvious]

34. The reverse for me

I suspect it may be because I've cut way down on the sodium in my diet.

To give a rather trite example, the other day I was served Pepsi instead of Coke and it was radically different. Back in the 80's, I couldn't really tell the difference during their taste tests.

[nancy1942]

35. Definitely.

I think it has a lot to do with aging, but also how food has been processed and altered. Everything just tastes sort of bland.

[Laffy Kat]

37. It's normal. Supposedly, that's why older people like spicier foods.

Had a friend who changed his anti-hypertensive rx and got his taste back after a few weeks. It's a known side-effect of some BP meds.

[doc03]

39. I like Frank's Red Hot on things anymore, when I was younger I couldn't

eat hot stuff.

[IcyPeas]

38. I still enjoy tasty food.... but

I love spicy food, Indian, for example.

The one thing I notice, and I have no idea if it's an age thing, is that the taste seems to stay with me. Even after I brush my teeth and drink water, I sometimes still wake up and can taste the previous night's food. I don't like that at all. I've even gotten up in the middle of the night and used mouthwash....

so far, it hasn't changed what I eat. Just a tad annoying.

[Leith]

40. I Thought It Was Just Me

I think it also has something to do with being bored with food. I still eat the same stuff as always, but now I'm just tired of the stuff I used to love.

Maybe I should take a cooking class or try some new recipes.

[DFW]

41. Luckily, no.

I just turned 65, and things still taste great. It helps that I am married to a gourmet chef.

[applegrove]

43. Lucky duck!

[DFW]

46. Don't I know it!

Today we had some friends over. She made:

Marinated turkey filets for the grill
Curried shrimp
Baguette with sheep's cheese brie from Spain
Rucola salad, cherry tomatoes (optional for the salad)
German cheese cake with a raspberry compote topping
Apricot pastry
Apple crumble cake with rhubarb

Lucky me indeed!

[applegrove]

47. Wow. My compliments to the menu. Sounds delicious.

[DFW]

48. She is amazing

All our friends who came have known of her cooking genius for decades, but they are still amazed (as am I) every time. Today was no different.

[applegrove]

49. Good times.

Last edited Sun Apr 2, 2017, 07:01 PM - Edit history (1)

[DFW]

50. Been good times for a while. Here she is at age 40 or so (we are going through old photos tonight)

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[applegrove]

53. Beautiful. I am an old photo person myself.

[DFW]

57. We both are, too

She has some of her and her brother as toddlers. Germany fifteen years after the war ended was a different planet.

[applegrove]

58. That would be a tough place in time to be.

[DFW]

59. Her dad was drafted at age 17

Returned from Stalingrad at age 18 with one leg blown off by a Russian artillery shell. They only escaped starvation because they were farmers. They went through some tough times indeed. By the time my wife was born, things were looking up, though "up" is a relative term when you start at total devastation.

[applegrove]

60. And I'm sure part of the National psychie was warped. My mom had

a friend who just had to get the hell out of France as a young adult in those years after the war. A lot guilt anger denial bargaining etc. All because of some psychopaths wanted war. Yes. As scary as it must have been, being on a farm would likely be the safest during the war.

[DFW]

61. It didn't keep him from being drafted as cannon fodder

My wife's mom's father actually saved a Nazi after the war. The Nazi in their village knew my MIL's father was listening to British radio, a crime punishable by death during the war. He told her dad that he knew it, but wouldn't report him. After the war, when the tables were turned, he implored my MIL's dad not to denounce him, reminding him that he could have done the same during the war. He agreed, and the guy's life was spared.

My wife's father was obviously not cut out for farm work any more after he returned from Stalingrad minus a leg, and studied economy, eventually working in the loan department of a local bank, loaning money out to other farmers to get their businesses started. He supported his son's (my wife's brother's) efforts to dope himself up for his military service exam (still compulsory in those days) to the point where he was declared unfit for military service, and did 18 months of community service instead. It was also his fervent wish that all his grandchildren be girls, so they would never have to be in the military--a wish that fate was to grant him. His experience at Stalingrad was so traumatizing, he never talked about it. Only in his delirium prior to death did he lose his block, and was calling out to members of his unit to watch out for incoming artillery shells that had been fired 55 years before.

[applegrove]

62. My grandfather voluntarily signed up for the army at the age of 39 in WWII.

He had been to military college when he was younger and had a brother who fought in WWI so he went willingly. King and country since we are canadian. Got injured twice by 'friendly fire'. At the end of the war he and his men occupied a small German Town for a bit. As he left, the locals got together and gave him a gun in appreciation of the fairness he showed them. For sure when psychopaths have ginned up war and hatred the only way to make sure it ends is to forge ties with the people who have been made into your enemies by the monsters. Even when it does not feel right. That breaks apart the web of evil.I doubt I will ever be able to do that in my own struggles.

Stalingrad. Was that not two years long. I mean there would be no chance of not being maimed or killed in battles that last that long. I am sure no other allies, other than the Russians, saw that much actual fighting in WWII. And he was 17.

The world is so capable of being such an evil place. Makes me so mad when I see the alt right and far righters trying to dismantle the institutions we have created to keep peace and prosperity for all.

[PassingFair]

64. Wow... my father was a drill instructor in the Marine Corps during the Korean War...

He told my 3 brothers to NEVER enlist, and told ALL of us to NEVER put ourselves
in a position where we had no choice but to "follow orders". Luckily my brothers
missed out on any draft, and I STILL make sure I have the option of walking away from any situation
that would compromise my morals or integrity.

[applegrove]

67. Oh my grandfather's brother had bad ptsd after WWI. He just felt

he had to go. When he was injured and in hospital in Britain he was visited by family friend and canadian General Crerar, who told him he could use him in London and he didn't have to go back to his unit. My grandfather refused and went back to his men. They were not in the first wave on D- DAY. They crossed into the continent two weeks later and saw action in the Netherlands where they were gunners. At some point my grandfather in his jeep got run over by a Polish tank. He was left for dead. They found him a day later wandering around with a head injury. He was affected for the rest of his life though he did go back to practising law when he returned home. He used to go to the famous Dr. Penfield in Montreal to get his brain looked at. I think it was another time. When the rich too sent their kids into war. Maybe there was guilt there too because his brother suffered so much from ptsd and my grandfather helped his older brother and his older brothers family so much. There was a direct line every generation going back into history when men being warlike was normal. At least for followers of the British Empire at the time. What a collosal waste war is.

[yuiyoshida]

42. My father prefers Hot sauce these days

its all he can taste, he says.

[applegrove]

44. I'm going to try using more of it.

[raccoon]

45. Yes. All my life I've loved cashew nuts. Opened a can yesterday and I can barely

test them. Peanuts, now, they still have their flavor.

[CountAllVotes]

51. yes

happened to artichokes? I bought some at the health food store and they looked GREAT but they had zero flavor to them.

Same story with mostly other fruits and vegetables!

I did find some organic naval oranges a couple of weeks ago and they were very tasty however!

[liberalhistorian]

52. "Raises hand"

I'm 52, and a few years ago started actually putting pepper on a lot of my food when I never liked pepper before (I stay away from salt for health reasons). I also started liking spicy food when I never like spicy food before. My doctor told me that as we age (gulp! still trying to get used to having that phrase applied to me, lol) our taste buds get duller and duller, hence my sudden desire for pepper and spiciness. At least I still have all of my own teeth, lol.

[Runningdawg]

55. Hormones decline with age

one of the most important being thyroid. Lack of taste is a symptom, along with others and can be corrected with inexpensive medication. In the past 10 years I was diagnosed with: Depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic muscle spasms, constipation and severe joint pain. None of the dozens of medications that were prescribed helped. Not one. FINALLY I convinced my Dr to test my thyroid. 6 weeks later ALL symptoms were gone, normal taste returned and I feel 20 years younger.
https://www.littlethings.com/symptoms-of-thyroid-problems/

[applegrove]

56. I had my thyroid tested almost a decade ago. I do it this year again. Thanks for that.

[Major Nikon]

65. After 10 I noticed candy didn't taste as good

It's all been downhill since then.

[rurallib]

66. We pretty much quit eating meat a couple years ago and my taste has never been sharper

When I quit smoking some 40+ years ago there was a major uptick in taste.
When I quit drinking (mostly beer) there was another uptick @ 25 years ago.
Since we cut way down on meat there has been another big uptick in taste.

Turning 68 this year.

[applegrove]

68. Wow. I love meat. Good on ya.