Healthy Swellness: Lung Cancer Awareness Month

December 2, 2013

November was Lung Cancer Awareness Month. And last week I learned how food tastes different to smokers — worse, in case that’s not obvi:

• Smokers enjoy less pleasure in food especially sweet and fat tastes.
• Smokers have blunted tastes for salty, sweet and sour.
• Within 48 hours of quitting smoking your sense of smell and taste begin to return.

The Lung Association hosted a dinner at The Harbord Room where chef Ilan Adler created a menu and served alongside each course a sampler of how the dish might taste to smokers. I noticed the biggest difference in the seasonal squash salad, which was unseasoned in the smoker’s version. Talk about bland. The tuna crudo also wasn’t as tasty but I must admit, the braised and roasted onion medley did taste pretty good (just not as rich) in the subpar smoker’s sample.

Foodie reasons not enough to sway you to quit smoking? Here are some serious stats:

• This year more Canadian women will die from lung cancer than breast cancer.
• About one in 10 heavy smokers will get lung cancer.
• On average 70 Canadians will be diagnosed with lung cancer daily.

Filed under: Foodie Swellness,Healthy Swellness

Tags: cancer, Cigarette, health, lung cancer, lung health, Nicotine, smoking, Tobacco