Maybe my tongue is out to lunch.

[Mitchell Andrus]

My sense of taste seems to be getting blunt. Over the last year or so, I've noticed that salty, sweet, tart.... seems to be less so.

I'm getting old... that's it, right????
.

[Bob Rufener]

Join the crowd!!!

2. Is there a normal decline in our ability to taste as we grow older?

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There is a small decline in taste in people over 60. Most older people will not notice it, because normal aging does not greatly affect our sense of taste. Problems with taste occur less frequently than problems with smell.

Loss of taste may be permanent or temporary, depending on the cause. As with vision and hearing, people gradually lose their ability to taste as they get older, but it is usually not as noticeable as loss of smell. Medications and illness can make the normal loss of taste worse.

There are several types of taste disorders depending on how the sense of taste is affected. People who have taste disorders usually lose their ability to taste or can no longer perceive taste in the same way. The most common taste complaint is "phantom taste perception" -- tasting something when nothing is in the mouth.

Although there is no treatment for any gradual loss of taste that occurs with aging, relief from taste disorders is possible for many older people. Depending on the cause of your problem with taste, your doctor may be able to treat it or suggest ways to cope with it. Scientists are studying how loss of taste occurs so that treatments can be developed.

[Joe Pelonio]

It's a wicked plot by Morton to make us use more salt.

[mark page]

I totally agree Mitch. Beer just doesn't taste the same as it did 30 years ago along with a lot of other things too.

[Scott Shepherd]

I totally agree Mitch. Beer just doesn't taste the same as it did 30 years ago along with a lot of other things too.

That's not your taste buds, that's the missing brain cells caused by all those years of beer drinking

Only kidding, I am a proud supporter of Samuel Adams

[Mitchell Andrus]

Drat and double drat. Only 4 posts old and my thread's been hijacked by a discussion of the country's #1 hobby.

[Dennis Peacock]

Use more tobasco sauce.

[Burt Alcantara]

There is the age issue but I find more and more foods, both processed and "natural," have less and less taste. My comparison is the use of almost all home made foods. All of our home made foods taste normal and good. When we eat out or buy produce from certain stores, they are tasteless. I believe this is the case of one-size-fits-all.

Ice cream is sweet fat -- no flavor. We make our own and it tastes very good.

Part of this problem is the ever increasing population. As food processors try to fill the gaps, they take more and more short cuts to both increase production and cut back on costs. This results in tasteless foods.

Thing is, most people don't know what real food tastes like.

A good example of this is growing your own tomatoes. After you eat a home grown tomato, it is extremely difficult to choke down a store bought one.

Burt

[Brian Kent]

I used to work at the Chart House restaurant. After about 6 beers, a customer went from the bar to the restaurant table and ordered some expensive wine. He swirled it in the glass, tested its "nose", sipped and swished it in his mouth and said "It tastes flat."

He ended up giving me todays equivalent of about a $40 tip! Probably because I did not say, "Could it be the 6-pack of beer that killed your taste buds, sir?"

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mitch,

It's part of aging I believe. I've had this discussion with a couple of doctors with whom I work.

I'm starting to believe we were told lies. What was sold to us as the "Golden Years" is actually the years of RUST!


or maybe it was the "Gol dern! Years!"

OR...as Tyler Howell's mother used to say "Getting old ain't for sissies!"

Am I right about that quote Tyler?

[Phil Thien]

Lead poisoning will kill your ability to taste salt. I've heard eating lots of spicy foods can reduce your ability to define subtle taste differences, as well.

[Gene Howe]

Lead poisoning will kill your ability to taste salt. I've heard eating lots of spicy foods can reduce your ability to define subtle taste differences, as well.

I love Mexican food. And I like it HOT! So, guess I'll have to be content with the memories I have of steak tartar.

[Frank Hagan]

Some foods don't taste as good as they used to because they are different foods. California strawberries are now bred to ship long distances, and as a result they are like eating a fibrous root. Tomatoes are the same way; bred now for shipping purposes, they don't taste as good even if vine ripened. (The Israelis have even bred square tomatoes so they pack better).

My mother has always said bananas were much better when she was young. I thought it was faulty memory until I found out the Cavandish banana we eat today is second-rate; the Gros Michel, a sweeter, creamier and tastier banana died out in the early 1960s.