You may lose your appetite for any number of reasons: an illness, stress, depression, or even as a side effect of some prescription and over-the-counter drugs! For me, I tend to have no appetite when I’m really depressed.
Aromatherapy can help stimulate your appetite — sometimes just smelling fragrant cooking herbs can get your mouth watering and your stomach growling. Try sniffing scents like anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, fennel, or ginger. Love Italian food? Try basil and garlic to engage your appetite. Or try these recipes for easy (and delicious) Italian soups. Have a sweet tooth? Try a Chai latte, a tea made with spices like ginger and cardamom plus milk and honey. Add a drop of vanilla flavoring for an even sweeter treat!
You may find that the act of cooking — using these stomach stimulating spices — can help wake up your appetite. Check the Food Blog for recipe ideas that will inspire you to putter in the kitchen. Of course you do have to taste what you make! Isn’t that the law of cooking? It is in my kitchen.
The nice thing about the culinary herbs is that they don’t just stimulate your appetite — they aid in digestion. Smelling scents like fennel, ginger, anise, and others sends your stomach into action. Just the aroma of these herbs cues your stomach to produce digestive juices that can relieve upset stomachs, gas, and indigestion.
Appetite loss, for whatever reason, is usually a temporary condition. If your lack of hunger lasts for more than a couple of weeks, you should check with your doctor. If the cause is a prescription medicine, the doctor may be able to switch you to something else that won’t affect your appetite. If the cause of your appetite loss is stress or depression, your doctor can point you to a therapist who can help.