And, just like with everything in life, there is an opposite
of “supertasting”. Hypogeusia refers to a diminished taste acuity. It is characterized
by a decrease in the ability to recognize salt, sweet, bitter, and sour
compounds. However, in contrast with “supertasting”, hypogeusia is not a
genetic disorder but is associated to injuries and illnesses.
This disorder can be caused by conditions such as
respiratory and middle ear infections, radiation therapy, surgery of the ear,
nose, and throat, amongst others. Although this condition is not attributable
to a single cause, it has been demonstrated that people with low levels of
plasma zinc concentration are more prone to the condition and that using a zinc
supplement significantly improves the threshold of taste detection for salt,
sweet, and bitter but not for sour compounds.
Other disorders of the chemical senses include
ageusia, the inability to detect any taste and disgeusia, a condition in which a foul, salty, rancid,
or metallic taste persists in the mouth. It is alarming though that this
conditions can be a sign of a more threatening disease. It is thus important
that if we, at any moment, are affected by any distortion in taste perfection,
we visit an otolaryngologist
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