The number of taste buds you have may play a role whether you get COVID or not

Sheah Rarback
·2 min read

A symptom of early COVID-19 is loss of taste and smell. Yet this week I learned there is more to the taste story.

A paper published last month in JAMA Network Open detailed the association between taste sensitivity and COVID-19 outcomes.

Taste buds are located on the tongue’s small bumps. The number of taste buds varies from person to person.

For the person with the highest number of taste buds, every flavor tastes more intense. Called supertasters, they often dislike the strong flavors of broccoli, cabbage, cilantro and green tea.

Average tasters have fewer taste buds and they enjoy bitter, savory and earthy foods. People with the fewest taste buds are classified as non tasters; foods will taste blander to them.

Building on previous research, the JAMA study followed a sample of 1,935 people from July 1, 2020, to Sept. 30 of that year. Among those in the sample, 26% were supertasters, 47% were average tasters and 26% were non tasters.

At the end of three months, 266 people developed COVID-19. Non tasters were significantly more likely to get COVID-19. Of the infected, 21% required hospitalization. Of the 55 hospitalized patients, 86% were non tasters.

A 2020 study of 100 COVID-19 patients found that 100% of the patients requiring hospitalization were non tasters.

One’s innate immune response consists of physical, chemical and cellular defenses against pathogens. Examples would be tears washing out dust in the eyes or mucus trapping bacteria.

The hypothesis of these studies is that bitter taste receptors have a role in sinonasal innate immunity. When the bitter taste receptor gene (T2R38) is stimulated, there is a series of reactions that lead to the reduction or destruction of pathogens in the respiratory tract mucosa.

For people like my husband who can’t tolerate broccoli or cilantro, there might be a silver protective lining in their taste buds.

Sheah Rarback MS, RDN is a registered dietitian nutritionist in private practice in Miami.