By Julia Burks
My dad was diagnosed with PD in 2019. As a family, we experienced many changes, especially him. One of the changes that surprised me the most was his taste in food changed. For example, my dad used to LOVE beer. We are from Cincinnati, so of course he loved beer. Since being diagnosed, the taste of beer has become chalky to him. Also some food now has no taste. Weirdly enough…some food tastes better to him now. Peaches and apples taste sweeter now.
Loss of taste can be due to the “degeneration of the anterior olfactory nucleus and olfactory bulb, one of the first parts of the brain affected by Parkinson’s. This can happen so gradually that you’re not even aware of it” (source).
Loss of smell is more common than the loss of sense of taste with PD, however it does occur. The loss of taste is called ageusia. Taste impairment (defective sweet, sour, bitter and salty perception) has received less scientific attention compared to the loss of smell. This might be because “the impact of these symptoms on quality of life was considered modest” (source).
When issues in taste occur, it is difficult to determine if it is because of taste or smell abnormalities since when one chews and swallows, both taste and smell are engaged. Taste “individually, is only a reflection of perceptions originated from taste buds, i.e., sour, sweet, salty, bitter, savory (umami), and possibly chalky or metallic” (source).
This minor research led me to reaching out to our blog committee to see if any of them have experienced loss of taste due to PD. Turns out one of our committee members and resident blog writers, Elizabeth Grover, has been researching this topic!
We will share Elizabeth’s research next week.