how to get your taste buds back after a cold

Just like taste buds decrease with age, so do the olfactory fibers in the nose. Your food might taste different when you have a cold because you can’t smell it as well. Take the nasal congestion common with colds as an example. Olfactory nerves are responsible for what you smell and how you perceive food’s texture, temperature, spiciness and flavor. Those same molecules that signal taste to the brain also signal the olfactory nerves. Sense of smell is controlled by the olfactory system. Loss of taste isn’t the only sense that can dull with age smell can diminish as well. Typically, seniors notice this loss of taste with salty or sweet foods first. Remaining taste buds shrink as we get older too, resulting in diminished sense of taste. Taste buds regenerate quickly when we are younger, but over time they don’t reproduce as quickly, or at all. It’s estimated that we have about 10,000 taste buds at birth, but the number of buds decreases with time. It’s how we experience the five types of taste: bitter, salty, sour, sweet and “umami” (savory).

Taste buds receive the signal from tiny molecules that are released when chewing, drinking or digesting.

Each taste bud contains receptor cells that are responsible for reporting the sense of taste to the brain. Sense of taste, also called the gustatory system, is largely controlled by taste buds - tiny organs located on the tongue, roof of the mouth, in the esophagus and back of the throat.

So, why does this happen? Taste Buds and Aging As we get older our sense of taste changes. You might be experiencing a common part of the natural aging process. Have you noticed the foods you eat don’t quite taste the same as they used to? Maybe your meal tastes bland or your favorite snack isn’t as delicious as you remember.

How to get your taste buds back after a cold