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This is the sixth article of my Weight Loss Journey. You can read the previous posts by clicking here
I do not know what caused me to lose my sense of smell or when it exactly happened.
One day someone asked to smell a new perfume she had bought and I couldn't smell anything. This was long before Covid where a loss of being able to smell was one of the key symptoms which reversed once Covid had cleared up.
In 2005, as part of my Western Cape Tourist Guiding qualification, I had to do a wine appreciation course. I am pretty sure I was able to smell. Or perhaps, because I had never been much of a drinker, I faked the tastings and learned the theory. Luckily, as I drove my clients on their tours, I wasn't allowed to consume alcohol and was able to leave it up to the Wine Estate staff to explain the various qualities of the wines.
What causes Anosmia
According to Google, apart from Covid, there are many reasons your sense of smell can disappear, either temporarily or permanently.
Infections, Allergies, Nasal Polyps, Certain Medications, Brain Damage, Diabetes, Alzheimers, Exposure to chemicals, a lack of Vit B12, or zinc, and finally aging.
Looking at this list I am going to assume that living through 20 years of dry, dusty Gauteng winters sneezing my head off day and night until my nose bled, was the cause of my Anosmia. I also spent 3 years working in a Textile Dyeing laboratory and worked with very strong chemicals which wasn't very good for me.
What are the upsides of having Anosmia
Ok, I can only think of one.
I get to clean the grease trap in the drain which is a huge relief for Dave as he is very squeamish.
What are the downsides of having Anosmia
- I always need to check with Dave to ensure the food I am going to cook is OK. The other night I was about to put a perfectly normal looking chicken into the oven to roast when Dave came through and had a cadenza. It apparently stank to high heaven and back.
- If I leave a pot of food on the stove and it starts to burn, I can't smell it. This is always a bit of a worry for me.
- Ditto - leaving the iron on.
- When your sense of smell disappears, your sense of taste is also impaired. Dave loves spicy food and tells me my cooking is terribly boring. The upside here is that he loves to cook and I am always appreciative.
Strangely though every now and again I will catch a whiff of something and it will trigger a memory. A flower or newly cut lawn will remind me of living on a farm or I will walk into a room and I will be transported back to a school classroom. Most of the time I have absolutely no idea what the food I am cooking smells like but very occasionally the smell of fried onions or a spice will permeate my nose.
From a Weightloss perspective it reinforced that I don't eat for pleasure, I eat compulsively either out of habit or to fill an emotional hole.
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