Senior Health 5 Food Tips to Make Up for a Loss of Smell and Taste 2/14/2025 | By Terri L. Jones People whose senses of smell and taste have been compromised may feel that they’ve lost some of life’s joys. The loss can also lead to a poor diet and the accompanying health issues. These tips for making up for a loss of smell and taste can help bring back some of the pleasure. Every year, nearly a quarter of a million Americans see their physicians for issues with their sense of smell or taste. Impairment of these senses can be caused by a number of medical conditions, including diabetes, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, COVID-19, and certain types of cancer. Some medications as well as cancer treatments can also compromise these senses. Loss of smell and taste can also be a result of aging. As you get older, a decrease in olfactory nerve endings in your nose can make it difficult to detect odors. Since smell makes up about 80% of what we experience as taste, losing it can make your food taste bland. Plus, you lose tastebuds as you age, and each tastebud that you still have begins to shrink, which further compromises your sense of taste. And when you can’t properly taste your food, you don’t enjoy it, and you often don’t eat right. “From limited studies with aging adults who report a loss of smell, we know they are less likely to conform to dietary guidelines and [more likely to have] poor dietary quality when compared to the guidelines standards,” explains Caroline West Passerrello, M.S., RDN, LDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, However, having trouble with smell and taste doesn’t mean you have to give up on enjoying food. Below are some ways to compensate when these senses are impaired. Tips perk up food after a loss of taste of smell 1. Add visual appeal You’ve probably heard the saying, “we eat with our eyes first.” Studies have shown that the appearance of food greatly impacts its taste. That’s why it’s so important, when your sense of taste is compromised, to seek out food that makes your mouth begin to water before you fork up the first bite. When you’re not as thrilled about eating because your sense of taste isn’t up to snuff, Debra Ruzensky, clinical dietitian, also recommends “using smaller plates and portions so you’re not overwhelmed by the prospect of ‘too much food’ before you’ve even gotten started.” 2. Add texture When you can’t differentiate flavors, you may become much more sensitive to how foods feel in your mouth. For example, some people are turned off by soft foods like yogurt, but they enjoy more liquified foods like smoothies. To add interest to meals, clinical dietician Cindy Hwang advises cancer patients with an impaired sense of taste to add texture to their foods. You might mix some crunchy celery or apple slices into soft tuna or chicken salad or slather smooth or chunky peanut butter on crispy crackers. Or try adding slivered almonds or water chestnuts to vegetables. Related: 5 Food Prep Tips for Those with Swallowing Disorders 3. Vary temperatures In some cases, people with problems with smell and taste prefer chilled or frozen foods to warm or hot foods. For others, pairing cold food with hot in the same dish, like sour cream on a warm baked potato, is more appealing. Experiment with different temperatures or combinations of hot and cold until you find food that whets your appetite. 4. Spice it up When your sense of taste or smell is diminished, subtle flavors may be lost, but sometimes spices like black pepper, chili pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and ginger, especially when used generously, will register. For instance, when my aunt had COVID three years ago, it robbed her of her ability to taste food. The only flavor she says she’s able to taste now is savory, spicy barbecue sauce. 5. Make them pucker Another flavor that tends to come through, despite a loss of smell or taste, is the sharp taste of acids like lemon or lime juice or vinegar. Acids also stimulate saliva, which decreases with age but helps distribute food to your tastebuds. Clinical dietician Victoria Lee suggests enjoying a dish like lemon sorbet before your meal to get your saliva flowing. Follow that with more tart or vinegary foods to really wake up your tastebuds. In “Taste and Flavour,” a free digital cookbook for people whose smell and taste have been compromised due to long COVID, British author and chef Ryan Riley shares one last way to adapt your cooking: adding unami. The fifth basic taste, alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, unami is the rich savoriness you find in cheese, mushrooms, miso, and soy sauce. Riley uses unami flavors in recipes like mushroom and blue cheese mac ’n’ cheese and feta and Za’atar twists. For these recipes and more, download “Taste and Flavour” here. Related: More from Seniors Guide on causes for loss of taste Read More Terri L. Jones Terri L. Jones has been writing educational and informative topics for the senior industry for over 10 years, and is a frequent and longtime contributor to Seniors Guide.