A metallic or otherwise wrong taste in food is one kind of impaired taste, a problem that runs from a distorted taste to a complete loss of taste, and a complete inability to taste is rare. The sense at fault is often smell rather than taste, since most people who think they have a taste disorder actually have a problem with smell.
Why coffee or meat can start to taste wrong
Coffee, meat or any other familiar food can start to taste wrong through a change in taste or in smell, because flavor is a combination of the two: much of what is perceived as taste is actually smell, and people who have taste problems often have a smell disorder that can make it hard to identify a food's flavor. A smell can also be distorted: the smell of something familiar can change, or something that normally smells pleasant can start to smell foul.
Taste cells in your mouth and throat pick up sweet, salty, sour, savory and bitter tastes. Flavor is those tastes combined with a food's aroma and with other sensations, such as heat, cold, texture, the coolness of mint or the burn of chili, and it is flavor that tells a pear from an apple. Chewing releases aromas that reach your nose through a channel connecting the roof of your throat to your nose. When that channel is blocked, as when a cold or flu stuffs up your nose, you lose much of your ability to enjoy a food's flavor, and food tends to taste bland.
How to tell a taste problem from a smell problem or a dry mouth
Taste, smell and a dry mouth each show up a little differently, and an examination is how the cause is found:
- Smell. Things may smell different, and a smell you once enjoyed may now smell bad. Many people with a smell disorder also notice problems with their sense of taste.
- Taste. Sweet, sour, bitter, salty and savory can register less strongly than before, or a foul, salty, rancid or metallic taste can persist in your mouth, which is called dysgeusia. The most common taste disorder is a lingering, often unpleasant taste even though there is nothing in your mouth.
- Dry mouth. Not having enough saliva to keep your mouth wet brings symptoms that may include a sticky, dry feeling, trouble chewing, swallowing, tasting or speaking, a burning feeling in your mouth and a dry, rough tongue. Dry mouth alters the taste of food and can make it hard to swallow.
Two questions an ear, nose and throat doctor may put to you can be answered at home now: can you smell anything at all, and can you taste any food? Taste and smell disorders are both diagnosed by an otolaryngologist, also called an ENT, and an accurate assessment of taste loss includes an examination of your ears, nose and throat, a dental examination, a review of your health history and a taste test supervised by a health care professional. If you raise the change with a doctor, they might suggest you see one.
Dry mouth is not a normal part of aging. If you think you have it, see your dentist or a doctor to find out why your mouth is dry.
Whether a medicine you take is doing this, and whether to stop it
A medicine you take can change how food tastes, and you stop it only if the doctor who prescribed it tells you to. If you think a medicine is affecting your sense of taste, ask that doctor about an alternative prescription, and keep taking the medicine until you have discussed it with them. If a medicine turns out to be the cause, you may need to change your dose or switch to a different medicine, a change your prescriber makes.
Medicines are among the causes of impaired taste, including thyroid medicines and some medicines used to treat cancer, and a medicine can also dry your mouth: certain medicines, such as antibiotics, antihistamines and those for high blood pressure, depression and bladder-control issues, can cause dry mouth.
Other things that change how food tastes
Other causes of impaired taste include:
- a common cold, flu and other viral infections
- a nasal infection, nasal polyps or sinusitis
- pharyngitis, or sore throat, and strep throat
- salivary gland infections, and mouth dryness
- Bell palsy, a disorder of the nerve that controls movement of the muscles in the face, and head trauma
- ear surgery or injury, sinus or anterior skull base surgery, and injury to the mouth, nose or head
- heavy smoking, especially of a pipe or cigars
- swollen or inflamed gums
- a lack of vitamin B12 or zinc
Gum disease, an infection in your mouth or problems with dentures can leave a bad taste that changes the way food tastes. Brushing your teeth, flossing and using mouthwash regularly can help prevent those problems, and if a bad taste in your mouth is ongoing, talk to your dentist about it.
Most people lose some ability to taste and smell as they get older, and the sense of taste often decreases after age 60, most often with salty and sweet tastes lost first. A change in smell or taste can signal a larger health problem.
How to eat enough this week, and when to stop waiting it out
Make food more interesting with color, texture and sharp flavors, and keep eating when it is dull, because if you have lost some of your sense of taste and smell, you may not eat enough nutritious food to stay healthy. That can lead to unintentional weight loss or gain, or to malnutrition, which means not getting the calories, protein, vitamins and minerals you need from food. If you are in weight care, weight that comes off because food tastes wrong is unintentional weight loss, so say how little you are eating when you see a doctor about the taste.
When food tastes bland or you are tasting less than you did:
- Add color and texture, such as brightly colored vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli and tomatoes.
- Flavor food with herbs, spices, mustard, hot pepper, onions, garlic, ginger, or lemon or lime juice, going lighter on the hot pepper if your mouth is dry. Adding more salt or sugar may not be a healthy solution, especially if you have high blood pressure or diabetes.
- If your diet allows, put small amounts of foods such as cheese, butter, olive oil or toasted nuts on vegetables.
- Serve foods separately, since casseroles and other combination dishes can hide individual flavors.
- Choose foods that appeal to you.
If your mouth is dry, sip water or a sugarless drink during meals, which makes chewing and swallowing easier and may also make food taste better. Salty food, like spicy food, may cause pain or a burning feeling in a dry mouth, so go lighter on salt as well, and on drinks with caffeine such as coffee, tea and some sodas, which can dry out the mouth. Smoking and drinking alcohol can also change how food tastes, and cutting back or stopping may help.
If you do not want food at all, rather than finding that it tastes wrong, start from a record of one day's eating and a check of your protein (see No appetite at all? Start by writing down one day of eating).
There is no set number of days to wait it out. If a cold or flu is behind it, normal taste should return when the illness passes. Have your own doctor look into it if your taste problem does not go away, or if abnormal tastes come with other symptoms, and tell that doctor about any change in your sense of smell as well.
A loss of taste that came suddenly with COVID-19 is the exception: most people regain taste after the other symptoms have gone away, and if yours does not return, seek medical care as soon as possible by calling your own doctor's office, or go to an urgent care clinic if that office cannot see you soon enough.
At a visit about a taste problem, expect the doctor to examine you and ask questions that include:
- Do all foods and drinks taste the same?
- Do you smoke?
- Does the change in taste affect your ability to eat normally?
- Have you noticed any problems with your sense of smell?
- Have you recently changed toothpaste or mouthwash?
- How long has the taste problem lasted?
- Have you been sick or injured recently?
- What medicines do you take?
- What other symptoms do you have, such as appetite loss or breathing problems?
- When did you last go to the dentist?
Depending on the answers, you may get medicine to relieve a stuffy nose if allergies or sinusitis are behind it, or a CT or MRI scan of your sinuses or of the part of the brain that controls smell.
Correcting a general medical problem can often correct a loss of taste, and where a taste disorder cannot be treated, counseling may help you adjust to it. Occasionally a person may recover their sense of taste on their own.
Spruce, the secure messaging in your NicoCares account, is where your care team answers if you are a patient. Write to them there about the taste change promptly, as with any change in your health, along with how little you are eating and any new medicine you have started. No reply time is set for Spruce, so a taste that has not come back after COVID-19 still goes to your own doctor's office or an urgent care clinic.
