Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, a cancer warrior, or a nutritionist—just a flavor enthusiast on a mission to make food more enjoyable. No medical advice here, just a little spice-driven curiosity! 🌶️😊 – Neeta Mittal

As most good stories do, this one started with a dentist appointment. After Novocaine paralyzed a nerve, I couldn’t taste anything. Not even chocolate. It was a dark time. My dental misadventure made me think—what must it be like for cancer patients dealing with taste issues every day? A dear friend who battled Stage 4 cancer confirmed it: among all challenges, losing the joy of eating hit particularly hard.

At LXV, where we’re obsessed with how spices transform food and wine experiences, I wondered—could we use this knowledge to help those whose relationship with food had been hijacked by treatment? This question led to our workshop at the Cancer Support Community – CA Central Coast on Jan 30th.

The Taste Villains & Our Spicy Solutions

We explored three major “flavor-zappers” and created spice blends designed to tackle them:

Xerostomia (dry mouth): Like eating in the Sahara! Our Quench Fusion blends licorice root, aloe vera, and cardamom, which we hoped might create a more comfortable eating experience.

Dysgeusia (taste distortion): When food tastes metallic or bitter. Reclaim Essence combines tamarind, tomato powder, and nutritional yeast, designed to potentially offer new flavor dimensions.

Ageusia (taste loss): When taste buds seem to take a vacation. Ignite Spark with Sichuan pepper, wasabi, and horseradish was created to explore whether other sensations might enhance eating enjoyment.

The workshop was magical. The room was set with foods so bland they could be mistaken for packing material—plain rice, potatoes, cauliflower, cheese, and broth. But once participants started experimenting, the energy transformed!

The feedback was beyond what I could have hoped for.

“This event was next-level amazing! I’m a HUGE spice fan and a brain cancer survivor, so this event spoke to me very personally.”

“The presentation and thought process were far beyond what I imagined!”

“Truly a memorable experience in healing and self-healing!”

I am hoping to expand our partnership with the American Cancer Society for more workshops. It’s not about replacing medical advice—it’s about exploring ways to add joy back into eating when joy is hard to come by.

That’s our goal—not a miracle cure, but a little flavor miracle at mealtime. Because sometimes the simplest pleasures, like enjoying your food, can make even the toughest days a little brighter. In the meantime, I’ll be in my kitchen, plotting more spice rebellions against the flavor-stealers of the world!

And, of course, LXV will be there, ensuring that whether it’s wine or wellness, we’re always chasing the perfect pairing.

#CancerSupport
#InnovationInFood
#SpiceTherapy
#HealthAndWellness
#CancerAwareness
#canutr