Food Help
Eating becomes a challenge when you have parosmia
Imagine, you are recovering from a common cold virus, then suddenly, your whole world changes.
Your chicken soup tastes and smells foul.
You can't stand the smell of your normal morning coffee.
You go out to lunch to your favorite restaurant and it has a disgusting unfamiliar stench.
You discover there are so many common foods that you used to enjoy are now intolerable.
What do you do? What do you eat?
Foods that trigger distorted
smells & taste:
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Beef (burgers, steak...)
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Anything fried
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Bacon
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Eggs
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Coffee
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Chocolate
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All Citrus
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Watermelon
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Mint (including mint toothpaste)
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Onion, garlic
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Cucumber
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Pretzels
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Tortilla chips, potato chips...
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Peanuts & peanut butter
Tips & Tricks to make eating easier
....Try this instead of that....
Hot vs Cold
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Cold or ice is always better than hot or steam
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Instead of hot coffee or tea, try iced coffee or tea
Vanilla vs Chocolate
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Vanilla anything is a better option than chocolate anything
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Try white chocolate instead of any other chocolate
Texture, Texture, CRUNCH...
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Don't forget about texture
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Add something crunchy
-
Try granola
Cinnamon vs Mint
Instead of mint candy, gum
and toothpaste
try cinnamon flavor
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Cinnamon Update:
Cinnamon has changed for me. It's not as great as I previously praised it for. It's not bad, just OK. I have traded my cinnamon in for Chipolte chile pepper seasoning.
This is an example of the strange changes that can happen with parosmia.
TIP!!!!
A little cinnamon in your coffee makes the coffee a little more palatable!! I think I may need to carry a small vial of cinnamon with me at all times.
YAY CINNAMON!!!
Use More Spice, Seasonings and Sauces
Disguise It
Cover up the
main protein (bad flavor)
with a sauce:
Spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, sweet & sour sauce, ketchup...
Read labels to insure that nothing from your bad list is included.
Example: onions and garlic in spaghetti sauce.
What to eat
when your choices are limited
I eat mostly vegetarian meals now.
It's difficult to go anywhere to eat outside of my own home.
The most frustrating part is that my previously favorite food still taste wrong. Things don't taste the way they used to.
Eating is not enjoyable anymore.
My personal go to "meals"
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Ham & cheese on wheat bread with or without tomatoes and spinach
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A cheese sandwich
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Pizza (doesn't taste right)
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Vegetable soup
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Pasta salad
Quick Meals
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Instant mashed potatoes
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Instant oatmeal
Please Note:
Parosmia affects everyone differently. The suggestions on this website may not help everyone.
Soup
Use vegetable broth instead of chicken or beef broth/stock with small noodles like orzo and small frozen mixed vegetables.
Remember to take your daily Vitamins...
Because if you're not eating a well balanced diet, you're probably not getting all the nutrients you need
Foods
that don't cause taste & smell distortions
Vegetables:
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Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes
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Yellow & Orange Peppers
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Carrots
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Broccoli
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Tomato
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Spinach
Grains:
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Plain pasta & rice
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Oats, Oatmeal
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Honey wheat bread
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Barley
Fruit:
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Cranberry (fresh & dried) and Cranberry juice
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Pineapple and Pineapple juice
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Apples and Apple juice
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Blueberry
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Cherry
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Peach
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Grapes
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Coconut
Protein:
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Black beans, kidney beans...
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Almonds & Pecans
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Ham (It works for me)
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Protein drinks
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Salmon
Dairy:
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Cheese (Mozzarella, Ricotta, Cheddar)
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Butter
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Milk
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Yogurt
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Ice Cream
Seasonings, Sauces & Flavorings:
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Salt & Pepper
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Chipotle Chile Pepper (sweet & smokey)
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Salad Dressing
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Sweet & Sour Sauce
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Spaghetti Sauce
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Barbecue Sauce
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Honey
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Vanilla
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Cinnamon
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Caramel/Salted Caramel
