Is it possible to taste food if you lose your sense of smell?

Question

A family member has lost their sense of smell 100%, yet they say they continue to be able to taste food just as well as before, I theorize that this is some kind of psychological phenomenon, or perhaps even a subconscious memory associated with the sight of a particular food item, I would appreciate any and all information, or ideas, theories. Thanx,
George

Answer 1

Yes, you can taste food if you lose your sense of smell. A member of my family lost their sense of smell completely. She can't even smell ammonia. But she can taste food. Remember, the tongue has taste buds - these are a separate sensory area than the nose. The two senses do work together when they both work, but they can work separately if need be. You can prove it by having someone prepare some bite-sized pieces of something to eat while you are out of the room. You can then pinch your nose so you can't smell, walk in, take a bite, and taste the food yourself.

Answer 2

You should still be able to taste food without smell- that's what taste buds are for. Think of the last time you had a bad head cold. You might not taste as well as you normally would, but you would know whether you were eating oatmeal or mustard paste! Your family member probably really can't taste things as well, though, since scent is a big part of how we experience taste. It's possible this is memory, or denial. Or did he or she lose his or her sense of smell slowly? Maybe it happened so gradually that your family member didn't register a distinct difference.

Answer 3

I would say yes because I have a good friend that was born with no sense of smell. He swears that he tastes everything and always jokes that he wouldn't weigh as much as he did if he couldn't taste. I think his taste may be muted though, because he likes to put hot sauce on everything.

Answer 4

Uhh, yeah... This is a grand, intellectual theory ,but there exists a sense called taste. Five, not four senses! It's revolutionary, I know. Sure, losing sense of smell limits taste, but it doesn't get rid of it absolutely.

Answer 5

Yes. However, it's not going to be near to what you and I taste. Taste is comprised of nearly 90% of what you smell. They'll still be able to taste that 10% of the actual taste, but again, I doubt it will be as strong or as pleasant.

Answer 6

Yes I have a slight sense of smell, I can smell good things like food cooking, perfume etc, but I can not smell bad things like sour milk, trash, etc But I sure can taste sour milk YUCK! My aunt has 100% no smell and she can taste just fine, we tried it by blindfolding her.

Answer 7

Ive thought about it before and i asked my science teacher a few weeks ago.here's what i think: if you lose your sense of smell you wont be able to taste your food as much as you could before.

Answer 8

the toxin in chilis attacks your nerve endings, not your taste buds, so its all in your nervous system

Answer 9

yes it is possible