Experimental Chewing Gum May Help Restore Smell and Taste After Covid, Researchers Say

A specially developed chewing gum may offer new hope to people who lost their sense of smell and taste after Covid, according to researchers at the University of Nottingham.The intensely flavored gum was designed to stimulate damaged sensory pathways and encourage the brain to rebuild connections linked to smell and taste. In a small pilot study, participants who had experienced smell loss for years reported noticeable improvements after six weeks of daily use.Researchers say the gum works like physiotherapy for the sensory system. By combining strong, layered flavors with hot and cool sensations, it aims to activate multiple parts of the mouth and nose at once. The goal is to give the brain enough stimulation to help restore weakened or disrupted pathways.The project was led by Dr. Nicole Yang of the University of Nottingham, who began exploring new ways to improve on traditional smell retraining methods, such as repeated exposure to essential oils.“I started to wonder, can we have a more effective system? Can we make it more engaging? That’s how the idea of chewing gum comes to my mind. Chewing can stimulate multi-sensory perception, sweetness, sourness and all the flavor that’s embedded there, and so I thought this could be a powerful way for us to stimulate multiple sensations,” she told The Telegraph.The Nottingham team first searched for commercial chewing gums with strong enough flavors for the task but found none suitable. They then created their own version, designed specifically to deliver a more intense sensory experience.In the pilot study of 16 people, 67 percent reported an improved sense of smell and 83 percent reported improved taste. Some participants had been unable to smell for as long as three years before joining the trial.One of them was a neuropsychologist from the University of Nottingham, Dr. Paul Wicks, who lost his sense of smell during the pandemic. He described the moment his senses began to return.“The first time flavor punched me in the face was a blueberry,” he told the U.K. paper. “I had blueberries on my cereal most mornings for the preceding year, and I just had them for nutrient content, and one day I put one in my mouth, and the entire world turned purpley blue. I felt like Violet Beauregarde,” one of the characters in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”Loss of smell affects an estimated 3.5 million people in Britain, or around five percent of the population. The condition can reduce enjoyment of food and also create safety risks, including an inability to detect gas leaks, fires, or spoiled food. In older adults, smell loss is also linked to frailty and poor nutrition.Dr. Yang said many participants reported meaningful changes in daily life. “People are worried when they lose their sense of smell. They fear they may smell, because they can’t sense their body odor, and worry that they can’t smell bad milk or gas.”“I know we can’t draw conclusions only with a small cohort that completed the study, but the results are clear and visible that this training has a positive influence on smell and taste,” the doctor said.

Experimental Chewing Gum May Help Restore Smell and Taste After Covid, Researchers Say

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