6 ms·

Have there been studies on the potential advantages of loss of smell and/or taste from COVID-19? Westerners are too obese, and presumably part of that's to do

by avar 3y ago

Have there been studies on the potential advantages of loss of smell and/or taste from COVID-19? Westerners are too obese, and presumably part of that's to do with the enjoyment people get from unhealthy foods. Whereas if you can't taste anything food's basically differently textured fuel of varying temperatures. You'd have to desire to eat e.g. yogurt with added sugar over one without.

ESTheComposer 3y ago
Probably controversial but I did lose a ton of weight before my sense of smell and taste came back from COVID. Part of me wondered whether it would've been better for my long term physical health to have that sense of taste stay gone...on the flip side, my mental health would've suffered greatly. Food is such an amazing way to experience the world and other cultures.
jancsika 3y ago
> You'd have to desire to eat e.g. yogurt with added sugar over one without. So in your mind, there are alternative, inexpensive 6- and 12-packs of plain, unsugared yogurt sitting in national grocery chains, just waiting to be consumed by people with no sense of taste at scale? Edit: also keep in mind that people who have lost 40% of their sensory input are apt to go through a depression, and that being sedentary has a lot of risk factors that overlap with the risks from obesity.
- olddustytrail 3y ago
  Well, yes. It's called plain yogurt or natural yoghurt. Have you really never heard of it? What else would you use if a recipe asks for yogurt?
- mplewis9z 3y ago
  My local Kroger imprint sells their generic-brand plain Greek yogurt (with zero sweetener of any sort) in both whole milk and nonfat versions, in 32-ounce tubs for cheap. Every other grocery store I've been to also has something similar, even if you have to get the non-generic brands.
  - mcpackieh 3y ago
    It's also pretty easy to make your own yogurt. If you buy a little bit of live yogurt to start, you can start your own yogurt production using that.
- FooBarWidget 3y ago
  You can always get ayran.
- Probiotic6081 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - naasking 3y ago
    So you have to drive to the grocery store more frequently and release more CO2? Why?
    - Probiotic6081 3y ago
      just walk or ride a bike.
      - naasking 3y ago
        As someone who bikes regularly, let me just say that you clearly don't understand the distances involved in America, particularly rural and suburban areas. Which makes sense if you're bringing a European bias.
  - thehappypm 3y ago
    This you? Being kind to other people will make you more likeable
whoomp12341 3y ago
loss of smell. I don't know who fails to wipe their asses anymore
nerevarthelame 3y ago
Loss of smell is a well-studied disorder long before COVID-19 ever came around: "However, some reports (Mattes et al., 1990; Mattes, 1993, 1995) are contrary to the earlier suggestions that anosmics do not experience problems related to their food intake. These authors report that ~14% of anosmic patients experienced a body weight gain exceeding 10% while ~6.5% experienced a loss of at least that amount." (https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/24/6/705/320339 https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/24/6/705/320339) Some people might with diminished (but not completely eliminated) senses of smell might compensate by eating more of certain flavors that they CAN taste. Also worth noting that there are tons downsides, ignoring the obvious lack of sensory pleasure most people get from food. They are less likely to smell rotten and spoiled food, smell smoke from a nearby fire, etc.
simondotau 3y ago
You can temporarily induce a partial loss of taste sensation, specifically sourness, with a glycoprotein found in one particular fruit. An astonishingly specific behaviour. It leads one to wonder what undiscovered or uninvented glycoproteins could do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculin

by avar 3y ago

ESTheComposer 3y ago

Probably controversial but I did lose a ton of weight before my sense of smell and taste came back from COVID. Part of me wondered whether it would've been better for my long term physical health to have that sense of taste stay gone...on the flip side, my mental health would've suffered greatly. Food is such an amazing way to experience the world and other cultures.

jancsika 3y ago

> You'd have to desire to eat e.g. yogurt with added sugar over one without. So in your mind, there are alternative, inexpensive 6- and 12-packs of plain, unsugared yogurt sitting in national grocery chains, just waiting to be consumed by people with no sense of taste at scale? Edit: also keep in mind that people who have lost 40% of their sensory input are apt to go through a depression, and that being sedentary has a lot of risk factors that overlap with the risks from obesity.

olddustytrail 3y ago
Well, yes. It's called plain yogurt or natural yoghurt. Have you really never heard of it? What else would you use if a recipe asks for yogurt?
mplewis9z 3y ago
My local Kroger imprint sells their generic-brand plain Greek yogurt (with zero sweetener of any sort) in both whole milk and nonfat versions, in 32-ounce tubs for cheap. Every other grocery store I've been to also has something similar, even if you have to get the non-generic brands.
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  It's also pretty easy to make your own yogurt. If you buy a little bit of live yogurt to start, you can start your own yogurt production using that.
FooBarWidget 3y ago
You can always get ayran.
Probiotic6081 3y ago
[flagged]
- naasking 3y ago
  So you have to drive to the grocery store more frequently and release more CO2? Why?
  - Probiotic6081 3y ago
    just walk or ride a bike.
    - naasking 3y ago
      As someone who bikes regularly, let me just say that you clearly don't understand the distances involved in America, particularly rural and suburban areas. Which makes sense if you're bringing a European bias.
- thehappypm 3y ago
  This you? Being kind to other people will make you more likeable

whoomp12341 3y ago

loss of smell. I don't know who fails to wipe their asses anymore

nerevarthelame 3y ago

Loss of smell is a well-studied disorder long before COVID-19 ever came around: "However, some reports (Mattes et al., 1990; Mattes, 1993, 1995) are contrary to the earlier suggestions that anosmics do not experience problems related to their food intake. These authors report that ~14% of anosmic patients experienced a body weight gain exceeding 10% while ~6.5% experienced a loss of at least that amount." (https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/24/6/705/320339 https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/24/6/705/320339) Some people might with diminished (but not completely eliminated) senses of smell might compensate by eating more of certain flavors that they CAN taste. Also worth noting that there are tons downsides, ignoring the obvious lack of sensory pleasure most people get from food. They are less likely to smell rotten and spoiled food, smell smoke from a nearby fire, etc.

simondotau 3y ago

You can temporarily induce a partial loss of taste sensation, specifically sourness, with a glycoprotein found in one particular fruit. An astonishingly specific behaviour. It leads one to wonder what undiscovered or uninvented glycoproteins could do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculin