4　味覚の老化と予防

Summary 　Taste is the ability to respond to dissolved molecules and ions called tastants. The sense of taste is one of the most important human senses and plays a critical role in an individuals’ food preferences, which ultimately guide the dietary behavior and thus the nutritional status of human. The decrease of taste in the older people was related with the complex factors; decline of taste function, saliva, digest, hormonal status, dentures, pharmaceutical drug, psychological appetite and so on. The replenishment of Zn might improve the taste even if the older people. Hedonic measures appear to capture habitual intake of foods are easy to implement and may increase understanding of how chemosensory variation modifies disease risk.