Page 14 - 2018 Conway Senior Expo

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SUNDAY, AUGUST 19, 2018 SENIOR EXPO • RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRATGAZETTE
• Strength Training
• Move w/Balance Class • Silver Sneakers Class • Group Painting
• Line Dancing
• Gospel Singing
• Book Club
• Art Class
• Creative writing
• Yoga
• Tai Chi
• Guitar Class
• Drums Alive
• And More!
Faulkner Co. Council on Aging page fcseniors.com
Loss of hearing and diminishing vision are widely associated with aging, but one’s senses of smell and taste may diminish with aging as well.
Stop to smell the roses
Seniors’ sense of smell and taste change with age
Aging comes with several sensory changes, many of which people expect. Loss of hearing or diminishing vision are widely
associated with aging, but one’s senses of smell and taste may diminish with aging as well.
The senses of taste and smell work in concert. The sense of smell is vital to personal health, not only because inhaling pleasant aromas can provide comfort and stress relief through aromatherapy and help trigger important memories, but also because smell enables a person to detect the dangers of smoke, gas, spoiled food and more. The National Institute on Aging states that as a person gets older, his or her sense of smell may fade, and that will also affect taste. The Mayo Clinic states that some loss of taste and smell is natural and can begin as early as age 60.
Adults have about 9,000 taste buds to sense sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami flavors, or those corresponding to the flavor of glutamates. Many tastes are linked to odors that begin at the nerve endings in the lining of the nose. Medline says the number of taste buds decreases as one ages, and that remaining taste buds may begin to shrink. Sensitivity to the five tastes also begins to decline. This can make it more difficult to distinguish between flavors.
Similarly, especially after age 70, smell can diminish as a result of a loss of nerve endings and less mucus in the nose. With the combination of the reduction of these important sensory nerves in the nose and on the tongue, loss of smell and taste can greatly affect daily life.
Changes in these senses can contribute to feelings of depression, diminish one’s enjoyment of food and cause harmful