Some types of cancer and cancer treatment cause changes in smell and taste. These changes can affect your appetite and eating habits and seriously compromise your nutritional status precisely when you need the best nutrition to remain strong and fight cancer.
Taste and smell disturbances can become serious issues during cancer treatment, but, fortunately, there are many things you can do about them.
Here we look at what you need to know about smell and taste changes in cancer and what you can do about them.
What to expect?
You can experience smell and taste changes in cancer in different ways. You may notice that your sense of smell is diminished, or you’re not able to sense scents other people do; you may notice that things smell different and have peculiar odors, or you may even feel certain smells stronger than before.
The same goes for foods: they taste unappealingly bland and without much taste. You may feel that foods are too sweet or salty, or you may feel an annoying metallic or bitter taste in your mouth.
Cancer-related taste and smell changes can dampen your appetite and even cause an aversion to certain foods, thereby jeopardizing your nutrition during a critical time. Usually, these changes disappear when treatment stops, but sometimes they can continue long after treatment’s end.
What causes these changes?
Smell and taste changes in cancer can be caused by the disease itself or its treatments. Among cancers, certain types of head and neck tumors are the major cause of these changes. As for cancer treatments, radiation therapy of the head and neck can result in smell and taste disturbances. Also, if you are undergoing chemotherapy or receive other types of drugs for cancer treatment, chances are that you’ll experience changes in taste and smell. Mouth dryness is a common side-effect of many cancer therapies, and it can result in taste problems, too.
What can you do about them?
Fortunately, there are many things you can do about these annoying problems. Here are some of the strategies to counter smell and taste changes in cancer:
If you find a particular food bland and tasteless, try seasoning it. Seasoning foods with tart flavors makes them more palatable for some people with cancer. Try using lemon wedges and citrus fruits with your food. Pickles and lemonade can be delicious accompaniments to your food during cancer treatment. Of course, you should void sour flavors if you have a sore mouth due to cancer treatment.
Experiment with new tastes and rich spices. Dried herbs such as rosemary, oregano, mint, tarragon, and basil are good choices, as are sauces such as ketchup, BBQ sauce, and mustard, and don’t forget good old flavorings such as chili powder, garlic, and onion.
Try to balance the flavor of salty-tasting food by adding sweeteners to them. Sweeteners can also help mask bitter tastes. The overly sweet taste can be offset by salt and lemon juice.
If you find the smell and taste of a food unpleasant, eat it cold or at room temperature. Foods tend to give off less odor at lower temperatures and will be easier to tolerate.
You may find the taste of meat particularly unpleasant during cancer treatment. If so, try marinating it. If you still find it unbearable, switch to other foods that are rich in protein, such as chicken and eggs, beans and peas, nuts and seeds, cheese, or tofu.
Choose fresh fruits and vegetables over canned ones, and try eating them as frozen treats. Frozen cantaloupe, watermelon, grape, and orange are particularly tasty. Fruit smoothies can be a great help in overcoming the loss of taste in cancer. Try blending fruits with yogurt or making ice creams and shakes with them.
Rinse your mouth and brush your teeth regularly. This may remove bad tastes from your mouth. To fight unpleasant tastes lingering in your mouth, use lemon drops and gums or swish very mild baking soda and salt water in your mouth and spit it.
To fight off annoying smells, choose food items that do not need cooking and avoid eating your food in closed and stuffy places. If the odor of a beverage bothers you, cover it and drink it through a straw.
During cancer treatment, use plastic spoons, forks, and knives. Metal eating utensils can leave an unpleasant metallic taste in your mouth if your sense of taste is sensitized through chemotherapy.
Conclusion
Smell and taste problems in cancer can decrease your appetite and food intake, which may adversely affect your treatment outcome. You can counter taste and smell disturbances in cancer by actively adjusting your diet and eating habits. Visit Our website today to learn more about eating problems in cancer and how to deal with them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Taste and smell changes in cancer can be caused by medication side effects, an impaired sense of smell due to tumors or radiation therapy, or changes in saliva or mucus production. Additionally, some cases of cancer may reduce the blood flow to taste buds, leading to a decrease in taste.
If you think that you are having smell and taste changes caused by cancer, it is important to consult your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor may be able to recommend treatments or lifestyle changes that can help restore your sense of taste and smell.
Common smell and taste changes associated with cancer include lack of appetite, a metallic taste in the mouth, difficulty tasting food, loss of smell, and an overall change in how food tastes.