Is this normal?

Post Reply New Topic

I have to "turn my tastebuds on" to be able to taste something, otherwise everything tastes bland. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not so good.
Can anyone else do this? Is it normal?

That's interesting. I definitely don't do this. Sounds like a useful "ability" though, at least in some situations.

Funny you should mention this.
I'd bought some organic almond butter at a local Farmers Market and gave it a taste at home. It had no salt or preservatives (which I'm pretty used to) and at first it tasted absolutely and totally bland.

But then as it continued to taste it I began to notice more, subtler flavors which (I believe) were previously masked by additional "flavor enhancing" additives in other more commercial products. In a short while I had decided to make as much use of "plain" organic foods as possible.

I plan, when back at the Farmers Market, to tell the vendor their almond butter had "allowed my taste buds to find their "inner self."

Sounds like a cool skill. I don't have it. My tastebuds don't really register much.

It seems that you consciously attend to taste to increase your perception.
Probably your taste perception is hyposensitive (high detection thresholds), and attention strengthens your taste perception, as it would also do for other senses like vision or hearing.

Hello there,

With me, rather than having to "turn on the tastebuds" to taste, I have the ability to turn the tastebuds off when I don't wish to taste whatever I may be ingesting. The "trick" works fantastically when having to chomp down vitamins and other things I dislike but have to have, and it also served me well during college when having to fulfill the social convention of various shots of alcohol ... people were amazed at my ability not to shiver or screw my face up apparently.

But, I'm not certain I do this in the same way you "activate" as it were ... for me, all I do is close the hole[s] in the throat that lead to the nose when I swallow and keep them closed for however long I need to to not be able to taste. I am utterly certain that 100% of taste ceases when I do this, because I've tried it with many horrible things for fun ... weird eh?

Oh, and don't worry about "normal", it will serve you better

I'm considering building a rack for my bicycle and taking dinner, outside of my contentious household, to pay better attention to what I am eating. Otherwise, I bite myself on accident and don't swallow well.

I was taking my food outside, but I was followed, there.

Or, I still hear arguing.

When I read your problem, I imagine a difficulty, with focusing on what you're doing.