Metallic Taste In Your Mouth -- Causes
and Top 10 Natural Remedies
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January 1, 2011, last updated February 16, 2012
By Louise Carr, Associate Editor and Featured Columnist
We take our sense of taste for granted but an unwelcome
and nasty taste in your mouth can really affect your
wellbeing and quality of life. A metallic taste in your mouth
– which you might also describe as a sour, foul or bitter
taste – is otherwise known as "dysgeusia", or altered taste.
Our ability to taste food comes from sensory cells in the
mouth and throat which, when stimulated, send messages
to the brain to differentiate between tastes. Many things
can affect our sense of taste and cause dysgeusia.
If you suffer from a nasty metallic taste in your mouth you
are not alone – MedicineNet estimates that more than
200,000 Americans visit a doctor each year for problems
with their sense of taste and smell. It may be common, but
a nasty taste in the mouth can be worrying. Is a metallic
taste in the mouth the sign of something serious? Can
anything be done to get rid of the metallic taste? What are
the best natural remedies for removing the taste of metal
and restoring normal flavor to your food?
What is Metallic Taste in Your Mouth?
Dysgeusia, or a metallic taste in your mouth, is a condition
when you feel as if your mouth is lined with metal, or that
you’ve eaten something metal. A persistent metallic taste
may cause foods to taste wrong or ‘off’, and generate a
bitter aftertaste from even the tastiest of meals. The
presence of a metallic taste in the mouth is not usually the
sign of something serious but it can seriously affect your
wellbeing. If you taste metal after every meal you may not
want to eat, or you may feel depressed or down.
We’ve looked at recent medical studies to discover the
following 10 best ways to treat a metallic taste in the
mouth and return your sense of taste and enjoyment of
food:
1. Zinc Is a Remedy for a Metallic Taste in Your Mouth
The common mineral zinc is a powerful weapon to fight
metallic tastes in your mouth. In fact, zinc is one of the
more widely studied remedies for a metallic taste in the
mouth.
A 2005 study from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg,
Germany demonstrated that zinc at a high dose of 140 mg
a day improved sufferers’ sense of taste as well as general
mood scores among patients.
Another study carried out in 2007 by the University of
Ulster, Northern Ireland looked at seniors with dysgeusia
and administered placebo or 30mg of zinc a day. Results
were mixed but demonstrated a need for further research
on the power of zinc for treating metallic taste in older
individuals.
Based on these studies, and even though it may sound
counterintuitive, consider increasing your levels of zinc to
decrease the metallic taste in your mouth.
2. Cut Down Your Use of Artificial Sweeteners to Cut
Metallic Taste
In addition to other health problems caused by artificial
sweeteners, they can also cause a metallic taste in your
mouth.
Heavy use of artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and
aspartame used to cut down on calories are the culprits.
According to results from 2007 research from Nestlé
Research Center, Switzerland, artificial sweeteners cause a
metallic taste sensation in the mouth by activating the
TRPV1 receptors. Salts can also cause a metallic taste in
your mouth by activating the same receptors.
TRPV1 receptors are found in the taste receptor cells in
your mouth and throat and are also sensitized to acid and
heat when exposed to artificial sweeteners.
Try using natural sweeteners such as fruit juice or get
accustomed to a less sweet taste to your coffee in order to
cut down on a nasty metallic side effect.
3. Practice Good Dental Hygiene to Prevent Gum Disease
and Metallic Taste
Gum disease, or gingivitis, often causes a metallic taste in
your mouth.
Gum disease produces swelling and redness in the gums,
and bleeding gums after flossing or brushing.
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis is a rarer condition,
which produces more severe symptoms than regular gum
disease including an intense metallic taste in your mouth.
Get rid of gum disease and the metallic taste by brushing
twice a day – make sure you include the tongue. You can
also try rinsing your mouth with a salt and water solution,
or a baking soda and water mix, to clear germs that make
gum disease a reality.
4. Eucalyptus Helps Remove a Metallic Taste in the Mouth
As a metallic taste in the mouth is often caused by gum
disease, you can help shift gum disease by using eucalyptus.
Chewing eucalytus gum helps. A 2008 study from the
Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka,
Japan showed chomping on chewing gum containing
eucalyptus extract was more beneficial than a placebo for
shifting mild to moderate gum disease, and the metallic
taste it caused.
5. Lycopene Can Clear the Metallic Taste in Your Mouth
Another remedy for gum disease is the supplement
lycopene, which you could use to clear the bad metallic
taste associated with the condition. A 2007 study from the
Krishnadevaraya College of Dental Sciences, Bangalore,
India found lycopene taken at a dose of 8mg each day was
an effective treatment for inflammation and infection in the
gums.
6. Can Borage Oil Cure a Metallic Taste in the Mouth?
One 2003 study from St. Barnabas Medical Center,
Livingston found weak evidence that borage oil – a rich
source of fatty acids – at a dose of 3,000 mg a day could
reduce the inflammation associated with gum disease,
which may also contribute to that metallic taste in your
mouth.
Could fish oil, another rich source of dietary fatty acids, or
a combined treatment with fish oil and borage, also be
effective? Surprisingly, no. The study found no significant
benefits when looking at the addition of fish oil to the
treatment mix.
7. Cancer Treatment and Kidney Dialysis Can Cause a
Metallic Taste in Your Mouth
If cancer treatment or kidney dialysis has affected your
sense of taste, you may experience foods as too sweet, too
salty, or too metallic.
In particular, after chemotherapy, radiation or dialysis,
eating meat can make you feel like you’ve eaten something
made of metal. Try meat in combination with other
vegetables and sauces such as pasta sauces, chili, soups or
stews or marinate meat in soy sauce, fruit juices or wine to
remove the lingering metallic taste.
Avoid canned fish as the metallic aftertaste can be
overwhelming; choose fresh fish or vacuum-sealed fish
instead. Use plastic utensils to cut down on the metallic
taste in your mouth.
8. Medications Can Make Your Mouth Taste of Metal
Certain medications like antibiotics, prenatal vitamins,
antidepressants and others can cause a metallic taste in
your mouth even though they benefit your body. Some
patients receiving gold compounds for arthritis, such as
auranofin, notice that food tastes different. Check with
your doctor if you have a metallic taste in your mouth and
you are taking any gold compound.
9. A Metallic Taste Can Be a Sign of Burning Mouth
Syndrome
Burning mouth syndrome sometimes goes hand-in-hand
with a metallic taste in the mouth.
This gruesome twosome creates a persistent, painful
burning sensation in the mouth – just as if you had scalded
it – along with a metallic taste.
Burning mouth syndrome is most common in middle aged
and older women and it can also affect your gums, lips,
tongue and the inside of your cheeks. Burning mouth
syndrome can be treated with alpha-lipoic acid, a strong
antioxidant naturally produced by your body and available
in supplement form.
In a 2002 study from the University of Medicine and
Surgery, Napoli, Italy 60 people with burning mouth
syndrome took either lipoic acid or a placebo.
Results showed that almost all of the participants showed
significant improvement when taking the supplement
compared to placebo. The majority showed improvement
after two months of treatment.
10. Mercury Poisoning Can Cause a Metallic Taste in the
Mouth…
… and should be remedied by removing yourself from the
source of the contamination. According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, metallic mercury has been
found at 714 hazardous waste sites across the country.
Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and doesn’t
usually cause us any harm - around 10 to 20 nanograms of
mercury per cubic meter of air have been measured in
urban outdoor air, a safe level.
Occasionally, levels of mercury are high enough to cause a
metallic taste in your mouth. One source of metallic
mercury is the mercury released from dental fillings – tiny
amounts are released when chewing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, estimates of the amount of mercury released
from dental fillings range from 3 to 17 micrograms per day,
contributing between 0 to more than 75 percent of total
mercury exposure per day.
You also may be contaminated with mercury if you breathe
vapors from hazardous waste sites or eat contaminated fish
from water close to the waste sites. Other sources of
mercury include fungicides, out-dated medicinal products,
skin-lightening creams and mercury-contaminated shellfish
and marine mammals.
Update:
11. Grinding Your Teeth Can Cause a Metallic Taste
A 1990 study conducted by the Veterans Administration
Medical Center in Ann Arbor Michigan discovered if you
wear dentures, then you are more likely to experience a
metallic taste in your mouth if you are younger, are
sensitive to hot and cold and grind your teeth (bruxism).
As the study noted: "Results indicated that youth,
sensitivity to heat and cold, bruxism, grinding, and an
increasing number of restorative units were significantly
related to metallic taste. "
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