You don't say? A matter of taste

Your sense of taste often takes a back seat to the Big Two — sight and hearing — but it plays an equally important, and complex, role. The sense of taste works like this: taste buds line your tongue, soft palate (the back of the roof of the mouth), and throat. When food or drink stimulates the taste bud cells, they alert your brain to whether the taste is sweet, sour, bitter, salty, or savory.

But taste buds don't do it alone. Thousands of nerve endings on the moist surfaces of your eyes, nose, mouth, and throat also help you experience the flavor and enjoyment of food. They convey sensations like temperature and texture.

After age 50, you gradually lose taste buds, so it's natural to notice changes in your sense of taste. Still, you should consult your doctor if you notice a significant change that persists for more than a few weeks. Besides age, here are some other conditions that can affect your taste:

Nasal issues. Smell and taste are intricately linked, so a problem with the olfactory system can diminish how foods and beverages taste. The most common sources of trouble are nasal stuffiness from allergies, a cold, secondhand smoke or other inhaled irritants, and sinus infection.

Dry mouth. Reduced saliva production does more than leave your mouth and throat feeling parched; it can cause a bad taste in your mouth even without eating.

Medication side effects. Some antibiotics alter taste, but this typically resolves when you're done taking them.

More serious medical disorders. Conditions like diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease are known to diminish the senses of taste and smell.

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