Why Does All Food Now Taste Bitter to Me?
Have You Regained Taste and Smell, But Now Everything Tastes Bitter?
After being sick and losing and regaining my sense of taste and smell, why do things I loved to eat suddenly taste bad?
If this is you, the first reassurance is that you are not alone. Millions of people all over the world are living without smell and taste after being sick. Some have severe loss, unable to smell or taste anything at all. Others are able to detect strong odors or can only smell things very close up. Most are left with a strong metallic taste in their mouths. For most this dysfunction only lasts a few days or weeks while others suffer for months. Still others develop parosmia, which is a smell distortion, meaning food gives off an unpleasant odor or taste such as rotten meat or chemicals.
If you have regained your sense of taste and smell but now everything tastes bitter, we are going to show you what to do about that. But first, why did you lose your sense of smell and taste? If you haven’t regained your sense of smell and taste, how long should you expect to wait for them to return, and what can you do to help restore your sense of smell and / or taste?
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Why Did I Lose My Sense of Smell and Taste?
The exact cause of this malady as related to the flu or other flu-like illnesses of the day is not known but experts think it is connected to damage to infected cells in the part of the nose that enables humans to smell. Around each nerve cell there are olfactory support cells that nourish the nerve cells. When these support cells regenerate the sense of smell returns. However this time lapse is different for different individuals.
Smell and taste are intertwined in the brain, so when you lose one, you lose the other.
The tongue is in charge of detecting basic tastes such as sweet, sour, savory, and bitter, but the nose detects flavor. If you regain even hints of smells, take heart, as that means it is only a matter of time until your full capacity is restored. However if, after a period of one month to six weeks, you still have absolutely no smell or taste, a doctor visit is suggested. Untreated allergies, sinus infection, or other issues could be the culprit. If no underlying issue is detected a main nerve may have been significantly damaged, so it will need to grow back. But rest assured that it will.
Food Suddenly Tastes Different? Here’s What Your Body’s Trying to Tell You: “Change in sense of taste can be due to a multitude of causes.“
New Therapy for Restoring Taste and Smell
Traditional therapy to treat this condition required a painful injection up the nostril to the olfactory nerve. Thankfully new methods are in trials and showing great promise. In one such trial, now entering the second stage, the patient’s blood is -spun down to remove the red cells and save the plasma containing the platelets. The platelet-rich plasma is then applied topically into the nose as this can help cell regeneration.
Smell Exercises
There are several natural ways to begin the healing process, first one being smell exercises. They have been proven to produce smell retraining. You can read about this online or schedule an appointment with an otolaryngologist (whew) to guide you with smell training.
Or this is one time it is safe to say “do try this at home.” Start smelling odors available to you such as coffee, oranges, or perfume. Start with 3 or 4 different smells until you begin to smell one or more of them. Then continue with the others.
Essential oils may also be used effectively. While smelling each one try to recall a memory that involves this scent. Memory and smell are closely connected in the brain, so this exercise can teach the brain to remake connections back to specific scents.
Supplements to Restore Smell and Taste
Next step is beginning a regimen of supplements such as vitamin A, alpha-lipoic acid, sodium citrate, and/or omega-3.
Vitamins to Improve Sense of Smell and Taste
Essential Oil Patches
There is now a new product on the market developed by Mark Theno. He has developed essential oil inhalation patches which improve the way oils are inhaled, allowing for slow and steady diffusion. The patches all contain different aromas such as hemp-ginger or peppermint. Apply a patch at the base of your neck or somewhere near the nose but not under clothing. Apply a new patch daily until your sense of smell begins to return and food begins to have flavor again. These patches can be purchased online and are relatively inexpensive.
What Different Essential Oils Do | Natural Healing with Essential Oils
So the bottom line for this article is simple: Do not give up. Help is on the way. You’ve got this!
**Addendum by Craig…**
I Have Regained Taste and Smell, But Now Everything Tastes Bitter
Why do the things I loved to eat suddenly taste bad?
It is called “dysgeusia”.
Dysgeusia happens during or after being sick with the flu, or a flu-like virus. It tends to happen after losing and then regaining your sense of taste after getting sick, but the sense of taste is now distorted. Usually the sense of smell is also lost. This is called “anosmia“, but we are going to focus on dysgeusia (distortion of taste).
Making sense of altered sensing: “we are the research” Medrxiv.org
Most people describe the flavor distortion associated with dysgeusia as having a major impact on their appetite, understandably. It ruins the enjoyment of eating, as well as causing them to never feel the satisfaction of being full and satisfied after eating, as most of us had been fortunate enough to be accustomed to.
Maybe this condition is a blessing in disguise for people struggling to lose weight, or in preparation for the imminent (and already happening, to a degree) global food shortages.
Just trying to look on the bright side…
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It Needs to Be Mentioned…
It has to be mentioned that a loss or distortion of taste and smell is common to having an autoimmune disorder.
Currently the most common autoimmune disorders are peoples’ immune systems no longer working, due to constantly breathing in their own waste CO2, rather than oxygen, and being jabbed with poisons which cause their immune system to stop working.
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Summary
As mentioned, there is no cause for panic, if you have lost your sense of taste or smell. In nearly all cases it seems to come back. And if it has, and you can taste again, but now the things you loved to eat suddenly taste bad, there are ways to get back to normal.
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I’m glad to hear your daughter has regained her sense of taste. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, Christine. It is nice to have a physician comment who is in agreeance with these principles.
Thanks!
This is a very informative article. Thanks for providing this medical advice.
I have not experienced the loss of taste or smell. My daughter has though after she suffered that so-called virus. She had no taste of anything, but eventually, she was able to taste salt; from there she regained a complete sense of taste.
Some interesting points here, Prashant. Thanks for your insights!
Thanks, Anusuya. Sorry about your friend.
This is very important. Many people lose their sense of smell and enjoyment of life through viral illness or associated jabs and it is great to see options to help.
I’ve personally had clients whose mental health was severely affected by loss of smell and as a Brain and Mental Health expert I can honestly say that the recommended supplements and techniques may well work for you.
in any case, I would much rather try these recommendations first before having injections in my nose or worse giving up and resorting to getting numbed by psychiatric meds, sadly often the forst thing doctors take refuge in when they don’t know a better solution.
When we are sick, we have a strong sense of nausea about the food that we eat. We typically feel like everything tastes awful, and that we have lost all appetite. This is because our brain is telling us to avoid eating anything, in order to help us recover more quickly from our illness.
If we feel everything is testing bitter, there are a few reasons this could be happening. One possibility is that your taste buds have become desensitized to the drug or medication you may be taking. Another cause could be that your nasal passage has been irritated by a virus or allergy and it’s causing the bitter tastes to enter through the nose.
You mention new therapy for restoring taste and smell, which is obviously helpful. The best natural way to speed up the healing process is “Anulom Vilom Pranayama” (breathing exercise). In the world of the internet, there are an ample number of articles and videos available regarding this Pranayama.
Thanks for sharing such valuable information, and I will definitely share it with those who need it.
Another great article from your website, that I have enjoyed always.
Losing sense of smell and taste could have multiple reasons as has been discussed. It is amazing that they are connected to brain. It is scary to think yif someone loses them for ever, the brain loses its function.
I knew of a person who lost the taste of which never came back, her body slowly started bending and she was unable to support herself. After a few years she died at a hospice staying last six months of her life last year. She tested negative to Covid 19 all through.
I can’t remember the name of the disease, it is not on top of my head right now. I am sue these kind of circumstances are rare.
your explanation and therapy recommendations will help to anyone.
I love essential oil patches in this respect as possible tools for recovery.
I am happy for the “chance” that brought you by!
Please let me know how you make out.
Hello, I had covid 19 in 2020 and since then I have lost my sense of smell and taste, everything tastes different, a little bitter not good at all then I had thought that vegetables and fruits as well as sobt meat stuffed with chemicals, but no today I came across your site by chance and so I am going to try the new therapy to restore taste and smell and the essential oil patches I hope that I am will help , in any case thank you very much for this article .