Taste, Smell, and the Future of Brain Health
September is World Taste & Smell Month, a time to celebrate the senses that shape how we enjoy food, connect with others, and make sense of the world around us. But taste and smell are more than just pleasures — they are vital to our health, safety, and even early warning signs of what’s happening inside our brains.
Why These Senses Matter
When you lose your sense of smell, food often tastes flat or distorted. That can lead to poor nutrition, a loss of appetite, or even skipping meals. Without smell, we also lose an important safety net — it becomes harder to detect smoke, gas leaks, or spoiled food.
But perhaps most striking: changes in taste and smell can be early symptoms of brain disease. In conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, smell loss can appear years before memory or motor changes.
The Science Catching Up
This summer, the Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium (GNPC) published the largest study of its kind, looking at over 35,000 blood and spinal fluid samples and measuring 250 million proteins. That’s an unprecedented dataset — and the results are game-changing.
Shared warning signs: Nearly 1,000 proteins showed similar changes across Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and frontotemporal dementia.
Genetic risk markers: People carrying the APOE ε4 gene — long linked to Alzheimer’s — showed distinct protein shifts across multiple diseases.
Aging & cognition: Scientists identified protein patterns tied to both normal aging and cognitive decline.
These findings could help doctors detect disease earlier, personalize treatment, and explore therapies that target the roots of neurodegeneration — not just the symptoms.
Why It Matters to You
It’s easy to overlook taste and smell until they’re gone. But these senses are powerful signals of our overall well-being. Paying attention to changes in flavor or smell perception isn’t just about quality of life — it may be one of the earliest clues to protecting brain health.
That’s why at the World Taste & Smell Association, we’re working to:
Raise awareness about sensory health.
Support research that connects the senses to brain function.
Promote everyday practices — from mindful flavor training to food-as-medicine strategies — that help keep our senses (and minds) sharp.
A Simple Invitation
This World Taste & Smell Month, take a mindful pause. Breathe in the aroma of your morning coffee. Notice the layered flavors of a favorite dish. These small acts of attention remind us: what we taste and smell today may hold the keys to healthier tomorrows.
Sources
GEN News. Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium Uncovers Biomarkers and Mechanisms. July 2025. Link
Financial Times. Proteins in Human Body Reveal Warning Signs for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. July 2025. Link
Cruchaga Lab, Washington University. The Power of Plasma Proteomics to Unravel Shared and Disease-Specific Landscapes in Neurodegeneration. Nature Medicine, 2025. Link
Alzheimer Europe. GNPC Releases 250 Million Protein Measurements Dataset. 2025. Link
