An uncommonly discussed but very cool side benefit of going on a fast: many people report an improvement in their senses of taste and smell, especially when it comes to food.

For example, sweet whole fruits seem to seem embarrassingly sweet, and the thought of a piece of candy is suddenly repulsive.  Similarly, that greasy pizza smell from the restaurant down the block suddenly just smells, well, greasy.

I have personally experienced this taste change, and it’s one of the main reasons I fast.  Too often our dietary practices lead to a sort of taste arms race — always adding just a little more salt, a little more sugar, a little more fat, a little more spice — leading to a condition where we’re unable to appreciate foods without heaps of these sensory modifiers. 

Fasting seems to provide a "reset" to the taste buds, so we can start perceiving foods as they really are, rather than in comparison to the last sensory-overloaded thing we consumed.

Chet Day, an experienced faster and natural health advocate who’s been on the web for basically forever, posted a daily journal page about his fasting experiences with kombucha and juice way before there was such a thing as a weblog.  So it’s a long all-in-one-page sort of deal, but chock full of great quotes like this one:

This happens during a juice diet- the clarity of taste, smell, sight, sound, and touch becomes quite exciting. Each of the above seems to improve a bit with each passing day of no solid foods. Another sign, I think, that all of us eat our way into oblivion and consequently miss probably at least 50% of the things we could be appreciating through this marvelously sensitive and keenly attuned organism our souls walk around in. And this morning’s first taste of undiluted orange juice? Oh, heavenly nectar of the gods!

Who wouldn’t want to have fruit taste like "nectar of the gods"?

Definitely one of my favorite fringe benefits of fasting!