Food suddenly tastes strange/different?

GoldLinnet

I've slowly been changing my diet over the last few months. Lately, I've noticed that food tastes different than before. Food is too sweet, too salty, too bitter, has too much of a chemical aftertaste (I'm looking at YOU, Splenda!) or is otherwise unpalatable. It's mostly processed food, so I'm not that upset. It's just weird to find out that some food I used to enjoy is now inedible. Having to cook more instead of relying on prepared food is probably a plus in the long run. Anyone else have this issue?

beckajw

I never did. Even after cutting foods out for a significant amount of time. Except, I notice sweet. I'm a diabetic (for 22 years) and I think certain foods taste sweet that others do not.

However, I know some people taste chemicals, etc. after changing their diets.

Everyone is different, but it's not abnormal.

exacerbe

This happened to me as well. It's amazing how much processed foods can alter the way you feel, taste, smell, etc..

Whenever I quit smoking, everything tasted salty... and still does.

Behavior_Modification

Yes. My palette has definitely changed in the last 2.5 years. It's funny how things taste different.

n_gal87

Yes! I've been trying to cut back on processed foods for the last couple weeks and yesterday I had a brownie, which I usually love - I took one bite and threw it out because all I could taste was chemicals!

susiebear29

yes!!! very much so!!! too sweet, too salty, too greasy, too spicy!!! and I used to LOVE spicy food I can't handle it now!!! :blushing:

Fairysoul

I agree, the processed foods seemed to bland and salty, and when I eat something sweet, it's way tooo sweet!

amy0716

I agree. I can barely eat cottage cheese anymore. All I taste is the salt!!

ncsjodi

Soda for sure. I used to be a diet Coke addict, but since giving it up over a year ago, I can't stand the stuff. In fact, I don't like any carbonated beverage at all!

realme56

I agree, once you cut out foods they just don't have that same flavor to you. I have suddenly developed a craving for baby carrots as a snack!

DontStopB_Leakin

Oh my goodness yes. All those hostess snacks I used to love taste like utter garbage now. And salt! Salt was my best friend for years, and now I barely add any to my cooking.

LeeshaNichole

Last night I had ketchup for the first time in probably a month, and I could not handle it-it was to salty/sweet/odd after flavor. Also, I can't handle greasy food anymore-all I can taste is the grease, and it makes my stomach hurt.

dhakiyya

I've found this too. I still enjoy some unhealthy foods, but tend to go for the better quality ones or much smaller quantities, and without any added salt. I can barely eat chips (i.e. french fries) any more because they're too salty so I don't order them as they're a waste of calories. I'll either exchange them for a salad or in the case of fast food not order them at all. I also don't like to drink sweet drinks much any more. I'll enjoy the first few mouthfuls then go off it and not want to finish it. So I order water with food in restaurants, which has the added bonus of not clashing with the food.

custinj

Yes. I have experienced this as well. Everything processed is either too salty or too sweet. I had a slice of pizza over the weekend & it tasted so salty i couldnt eat it. I'm glad I have this andvantage to control my will power around those foods now.

WBB55

This is what I try to tell people who say they can't possibly give up little debbies or whatever. If you DO give them ALL up for a while -- like a month or 6 weeks or so, when you do try them again, they taste too sweet and like a bunch of chemicals (which is of course, what they are).

iSarahMay

Soda for sure. I used to be a diet Coke addict, but since giving it up over a year ago, I can't stand the stuff. In fact, I don't like any carbonated beverage at all!

Same thing for me too

SweetestHoney

I have had a similar change. I used to LOVE peeps and I had to giveaway what I had in my house because they are just too sweet for me.

Amberh82

Wow! I am actually going through this right now. Like the past week, things just started tasting weird. Things I used to like...just taste off now... Glad I'm not the only one

MsLilly200

This is so true for my mom. She does low carb and dosen't like sweeteners so she's completely given up all candy and soda and stuff.
After like two weeks of quitting sugar cold turkey she got her period and a massive chocolate craving. So she decided to give up temporarily. Then she actually tried eating the chocolate and almost got sick it was so sweet.
Admittedly what she had was marabou Never Stop, which is chocolate covered in sugar/honey/chemicals/idontevenknow and super sweet, but still.

I made boiled carrots the other day and she tried one and thought it was too sweet.

murrayrosner

lI've found tomato's and cucumbers have thicker skin and taste bland,The fruits this year especially peaches have the same thick skins.My guess is that have been altered.to last longer.

mapenguinkeeper

Yup, can stand the taste of soda, juices, etc. Never had much of a sweet tooth anyway, but when I began cutting out processed foods and drinks I find every too much. Salty, bitter, sweet, you name it and I cook nearly every meal myself so I can control it. The hubby was entering in a minestrone soup I had made and when MFP posted the sodium he jumped and said, "there is no way your soup has that much sodium."

ooo, agree fruits and vegs out of season or from far off and just wrong, bland and tough

Confuzzled4ever

Yep! I have to buy low sugar or sugar free, salt free everything just about. Otherwise I don't like it. Which means i'm that annoying person in the canned bean or yogurt section blocking your access the products because i'm reading the ingredient list on every can. lol. I also bought truvia and I hate it. I don't like juice anymore or most sweets. I do occasionally eat them and always regret it. because they didn't satisfy my "sweet tooth" I buy high % coco dark chocolate now. 72 or higher or I don't like it. I make my cakes and puddings from scratch now and use a lot of fruits and yogurt as bases for sweets. I have cream brulee the other day.. and it was yummy but the sickly sweet aftertaste killed it. I had to have tea to get that aftertaste out of my mouth!

rduhlir

I grew up with adding your own seasoning to foods, my mom never seasoned anything. So to this day anything with a lot of salt I find unable to eat.

As far as taste changes, this has happened to me as a result of quitting smoking. I feel like a kid in candy store, as I have to retry all the foods I thought I hated lol.

Katla49

I switched to Stevia sweetener. It is extremely sweet so just a little goes a long way, and it lacks the downside of the chemical sweeteners since is its all natural. It has no carcinogens and no addictive properties. I get a liquid form at Walmart. The packets are too sweet for me. Good luck finding what works for you.:bigsmile:

dunnodunno

I have noticed that I can tolerate vegetables more taste wise than I did before I started the lifestyle change & I don't crave overly sugary snacks like gumdrops or Sour Patch Kids.

Cre8veLifeR

Yes! I've been trying to cut back on processed foods for the last couple weeks and yesterday I had a brownie, which I usually love - I took one bite and threw it out because all I could taste was chemicals!

^^^ me too! I went to a party over the weekend and someone brought brownies. Definitely boxed. lol

My tastes have totally changed - sugar snap peas and carrots actually taste sweet to me now!

jillmarie125

i'm kind of jealous....I wish food tasted too sweet or too salty now. Then maybe I wouldn't want to eat them! I really wish I was one of those people who got sick from eating fried food...or something "bad" for them. Guess I am not one of the lucky ones. My stomach must be made of iron.

doctorsookie

YES! Random foods taste "off" to me now.

PinkNinjaLaura

I've definitely noticed a change in how certain foods taste to me. It's liberating to eat something that I had been craving only to find out it doesn't taste good to me anymore.

Edit to add that pizza isn't one of those things. Still love pizza.

mmipanda

A week of paleo-eating was enough to get my tastebuds working properly again. Green beans were suddenly delicious, the smell of things like store-bought taco seasoning or 2 min noodles was overwhelming and horrible. I tried to eat some Vege Chips (gluten free rice cracker type things) and the flavour on them was just too intense and salty.

It makes me think that eating sodium-dense artificial flavoured food was numbing my senses. Now I can sort of judge how 'clean' I've been eating just by how much flavour everything has. Like after eating McDonalds, everything tastes incredibly bland.

gmallan

I can no longer eat deli meat because all I can taste is the sodium. Gross