I think the taste buds change first when we are toddlers and change after that as well. Especially in old age, people seem to have less taste and therefore may use more salt or spices than when they were younger.

Personally I have not noticed a change or decline of taste, there are a few things I just will not eat like anything that tastes of anis or fennel, but everything else I will eat.

The only thing that really annoys me is that the taste of food in general and especially of meat has gone down the drain. I remember the days when my mother and I cooked beef stew, the house was filled with a scent that cannot be reproduced with those watery chemical filled meats of today. And unless it's organic fruit and veg, the same goes for them. No taste in them anymore, so I have to make up with herbs and spices or grow my own. My own harvests still taste like the food tasted many years ago.

Sensory input does seem to continue to change throughout the lifespan. The brain is much more adaptive and changeable than once thought ("The Brain that Changes Itself" is a great book on this subject).

I did not like vinegar or bitter tastes as a kid, so did not like salads. When I was 21, I tried a salad that included vinegar dressing and some bitter-ish greens and really liked it. I'm still sensitive to bitter, but can eat things that I never would have as a kid, so I expanded my palate for vegetables and dressings much more.

I also find that my tolerance for sweet is much lower. When I was a kid, I did not know what people were talking about when they said something was too sweet or too rich for their taste. I definitely get it now!

My taste buds have absolutely changed. I was just talking to my husband about how much better I have been cooking in the past few years. You should have seen how I started out cooking when we first got married! My POOR husband and son! Dinner was a frozen Totinos pizza or a sandwich and soup. Occasionally I would make a hot dog.

I was content with eating those things. These days I cook from scratch. We eat way healthier. I have noticed that I can not drink pop anymore. It has been a year and a half since I last had pop and now a sip makes me sick. I also tried ordering out again last week and I literally got a headache and became very tired. I can not eat greasy or fast food anymore.

I am more willing to try new foods and the healthier, the better. I never liked vegetables in the past and now we are constantly cooking veggies or adding them inside a meal.

Love spinach! I remember being a kid and my Dad trying to bribe us to eat spinach because Popeye the Sailor Man ate it and he was very strong. Yuck, it was so gross. I have so many meals that now include spinach. And my kids love spinach!

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