How does a bitter taste in the mouth occur?
The taste in your mouth doesn't have to be overtly bitter; it can feel metallic, sour, or just plain unpleasant. Usually its appearance is associated with certain conditions:
- immediately after eating (if you overeat or eat certain foods);
- after taking medications, especially if a person takes them on an empty stomach;
- after physical activity;
- immediately after waking up.
Bitterness is felt as a foreign, strong, unpleasant taste that comes from the oropharynx or has no obvious source. It may be part of a symptom complex. Along with a bitter taste, the following may appear:
- heaviness in the side;
- abdominal pain;
- white coating on the tongue;
- nausea, vomiting;
- heartburn;
- belching;
- dry mouth or, on the contrary, excessive salivation;
- dizziness;
- bloating;
- bleeding gums;
- cold symptoms (sore throat, cough, fever, weakness);
- decreased appetite;
- deterioration of smell and other symptoms.
By exactly when bitterness appears and what other symptoms arise, one can judge the causes of the condition. To make a diagnosis, you need to see a doctor and describe to him in detail how you feel.
Why does the bitter taste appear?
A bitter taste in the mouth appears due to the reflux of the contents of the duodenum into the stomach or esophagus and oral cavity.
This feeling is troubling not only because of gastrointestinal diseases. The reason may be the presence of an infection in the body, exposure to medications, insufficient oral hygiene, during pregnancy, due to a lack of vitamins, an excess of fried heavy foods, alcohol, and coffee drinks. Gum disease is accompanied by a feeling of taste in the mouth due to the growth of bacterial flora. With dentures and poor oral hygiene, bacteria accumulate, multiply, and a bitter taste appears in the mouth.
When taking chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, or antihistamines, bitterness in the mouth can be a side effect.
Dysgeusia is a taste disorder in which taste perception is altered. Dysgeusia can occur during pregnancy, in smokers, in older people, and in mental illness.
Causes of bitter taste in mouth
Bitterness in the mouth can appear due to diseases of the digestive system, teeth and gums, due to changes in hormonal levels, taking certain medications and for other reasons (Fig. 1). At the same time, the accompanying symptoms and conditions under which a person feels a bitter taste in the mouth will be different.
Figure 1. Some causes of bitterness in the mouth. Source: MedPortal
Poor quality food
Foods cooked with a lot of oil, fat or burnt can cause a bitter taste in the mouth. Sometimes the bitter taste is associated with drinking black coffee or very strong tea. It can also appear if a person has eaten sunflower seeds or nuts. The bitterness will go away if you drink cool water, but a slight unpleasant aftertaste may persist for a while. If the bitter taste comes from food, there will be no other symptoms (pain, indigestion).
Age-related changes
With age, a person's taste perception gradually changes. Older people are less able to discern tastes, but may still experience bitterness. This is associated with a number of other health changes, for example, decreased saliva production, dry mucous membranes, and a gradual deterioration in oral health.
Smoking
If a person smokes frequently, they perceive the taste of food less well, and this can increase the bitter taste in the mouth. Also, bitterness in the mouth of smokers may be associated with the taste and smell of tobacco smoke. The resins contained in it linger on the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and settle on the surface of the tooth enamel. This is the cause of bad breath, deteriorating dental health and the associated persistent bitter taste. You can beat it with chewing gum or mints, but it is better to quit smoking or at least reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke.
Pregnancy
In the first trimester, bitterness in the mouth may appear along with other symptoms of toxicosis. It usually worsens with nausea or after vomiting. Fluctuations in estrogen levels can affect the perception of tastes. Cholestasis of pregnancy can also cause bitterness. This is a relatively rare syndrome that develops in the third trimester and is characterized by pruritus and cholestatic jaundice. Cholestasis in pregnancy resolves after childbirth and is considered a relatively harmless condition, but if symptoms appear, you should inform your obstetrician-gynecologist.
Functional dyspepsia
Functional dyspepsia is a disorder in which a person does not have severe diseases of the digestive system, but experiences pain, early satiety and a feeling of fullness after eating, and a burning sensation in the upper abdomen. In this condition, the feeling of bitterness occurs due to slow digestion of food. It may be accompanied by abdominal cramps and other unpleasant sensations. Functional dyspepsia is associated with a number of factors, including stress, smoking, heredity, and recent infectious diseases. You can relieve the bitter taste in your mouth by drinking water with lemon juice. If the condition does not go away or the pain intensifies, diarrhea, vomiting or other severe symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Hepatitis
Bitterness in the mouth is the initial symptom of hepatitis and accompanies liver inflammation. In this case, the bitter taste appears in the morning, immediately after waking up or 30-60 minutes after eating. This is accompanied by heaviness in the right hypochondrium, pain, nausea and vomiting containing bile. With toxic hepatitis, symptoms appear for a short time and disappear after starting treatment. With viral hepatitis, bitterness in the mouth persists almost constantly.
Pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract
If food digestion is impaired, an unpleasant taste appears in the mouth. The sensation of bitterness may occur due to a change in taste perception. It occurs, for example, with pancreatitis and may be accompanied by vomiting and the appearance of a yellow or grayish coating on the tongue. A common cause of bitterness in the mouth is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In this disease, stomach contents (stomach juice and food particles) regularly back up into the esophagus, causing heartburn and a bitter taste in the mouth (video 1).
Video 1. Symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease.
If a person has chronic gastritis or duodenitis, a bitter taste appears when he violates the recommended diet. In diseases of the digestive system, a feeling of bitterness in the mouth is always associated with food intake (appears some time after it).
Biliary system damage
A bitter taste may appear in the mouth due to cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, cholangitis and other diseases of the biliary system (gall bladder and bile ducts). At first, bitterness may appear only after drinking alcohol, fatty or fried foods.
“Burning in the mouth, tongue covered with a yellow coating, discomfort, and so on. In 95% of cases, this is due to the reflux of bile from the duodenum into the stomach. In the stomach, this bile is mixed with hydrochloric acid, thrown into the esophagus and then into the oral cavity.”
Karasev I. A., candidate of medical sciences, gastroenterologist, surgeon, endoscopist.
Without treatment, the condition will gradually worsen. The bitter taste will bother you more often and last longer. Along with it, nausea, pain in the hypochondrium on the right side, and stool disorders may occur. The feeling of bitterness becomes permanent if a severe inflammatory disease of the gallbladder or bile ducts develops (cholangitis, cholecystocholangitis, cholecystitis and others). Also among the possible causes are biliary dyskinesia, due to which the outflow of bile is disrupted, and cholelithiasis. Less commonly, the disorder is associated with parasitic liver disease (giardiasis, opisthorchiasis or echinococcosis).
Dental diseases
The feeling of bitterness can be caused by the presence of tartar, caries, gingivitis or other dental problems. There are usually other symptoms:
- toothache;
- enamel sensitivity (reaction to cold or hot, sweet, sour);
- bleeding gums;
- tooth mobility;
- gums look red or swollen;
- There is a noticeable plaque on the enamel that cannot be removed by regular teeth brushing.
Problems with the health of teeth and gums may be associated with xerostomia, a condition in which insufficient saliva is produced and the mouth constantly feels dry. This increases the risk of tooth decay and gum disease, and causes an unpleasant odor in the mouth, which is perceived as bitter. Xerostomia can occur due to smoking, mouth breathing, aging, diabetes, or autoimmune diseases. This condition requires consultation with a dentist.
Sometimes bitterness in the mouth appears after dental treatment. This may be due to the use of certain medications or materials, or the installation of dentures, braces and other structures in the mouth. If the bitter taste does not go away or persists for several days, you should contact your dentist.
Neurological disorders
The mouth may taste bitter due to damage to the brain structures that process taste information. In this case, taste perception is disrupted: for example, sour foods may seem sweet, salty foods may seem sour, and a person may not perceive some tastes. This can occur after a traumatic brain injury or stroke. Sometimes taste disturbances are associated with Alzheimer's disease and other age-related diseases in which neurodegenerative processes occur.
Complications of pharmacotherapy
There are more than 250 types of medications that can cause taste disturbances, including the appearance of bitterness in the mouth. This can happen if the drug affects the taste buds of the brain, if part of it remains in the saliva and changes its taste, if the drug suppresses the microflora, which is why fungal diseases develop. Among the drugs that can cause a bitter taste in the mouth:
- antibiotics;
- medications for arrhythmia, diuretics, statins and other drugs used for cardiovascular diseases;
- drugs used in chemotherapy;
- muscle relaxants, migraine medications and other neurological drugs;
- neuroleptics, sedatives, hypnotics, antidepressants;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- bronchodilators;
- antihistamines;
- antiviral drugs;
- nicotine replacement therapy products.
Rare causes
Sometimes bitterness in the mouth becomes a symptom of endocrine disorders: diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, hypocortisolism and others. It can accompany some cancers and respiratory diseases. Rarely, the cause is an infection of the salivary glands. A bitter taste may occur in cases of poisoning due to accidental ingestion of a toxic substance. In all these cases, the appearance of bitterness is accompanied by other symptoms of the underlying disease.
How to get rid of bitterness in your mouth
Treatment depends on the diagnosis.
If these are diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (gallbladder, pancreas, liver), then the doctor prescribes drug therapy and dietary nutrition. Medicines used include choleretic drugs, antibiotics, antispasmodics for pain, prokinetics for synchronous functioning of the gallbladder and ducts, and sedatives. If bitterness in the mouth appears after eating fatty, fried, spicy foods, then it is necessary to adjust the diet and introduce healthy foods into the diet.
If you have GERD, you must follow some recommendations - do not lie down after eating for half an hour, do not bend over after eating, do not wear tight clothes that compress the stomach, sleep with the head of the bed raised.
Symptoms
Bitterness in the mouth can manifest itself in different ways, for example:
- after overeating and eating certain foods - indicates the reflux of bile into the esophagus and diseases of the bile ducts,
- aftertaste after taking medications means a disruption of the normal microflora, a negative effect on the liver and the destruction of beneficial bacteria,
- after sports training - speaks of liver pathologies.
Bitterness can occur at different times of the day, after physical activity and during the abuse of bad habits. Often the symptom is accompanied by nausea and vomiting, dizziness, heaviness in the side and abdominal pain, white coating on the tongue and a feeling of bloating, heartburn and belching, dry mouth. At the appointment, you need to inform the doctor in detail about each sign.
Diet
The diet should include soft, well-chopped food. Gentle cooking methods - steam, bake, boil, stew. Include puree soups and cream soup in your diet. Bread can be consumed dried, yesterday's bread made from first and second grade flour. Meat – chicken, turkey, lean parts of beef, lean fish. Eggs should be in the form of omelettes, steamed in the oven. Food should be warm, not cold or hot. If there is a symptom of bitterness in the mouth, it is necessary to exclude sausages, smoked foods, fatty, fried, canned, and pickled foods from the diet. It is completely necessary to exclude alcohol, spicy foods, coffee, chocolate, carbonated drinks, pork, and some legumes.
Treatment
Treatment should be comprehensive and include measures to normalize lifestyle, diet and diet, as well as drug therapy. If possible, eliminate physical and emotional stress that negatively affects the motility of the gastrointestinal tract. Long breaks in meals, consumption of fatty, extractive foods, marinades, smoked meats, and coffee are unacceptable. Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and carbonated drinks. Drug therapy is selected by a gastroenterologist depending on the severity of symptoms and examination results.
Duodenogastric reflux, or the reflux of duodenal contents back into the stomach, is an extremely common digestive disorder. The symptoms that indicate this pathology are subjectively interpreted by many as “heartburn” or “indigestion,” which indicates their low specificity. An accurate diagnosis can only be made by a specialist after a thorough examination. If you experience discomfort associated with eating, we recommend that you contact Professor Gorbakov’s Clinic for specialized help.
Normally, food enters the oral cavity, moves down the esophagus into the stomach, and then enters the duodenum. Here it mixes with bile, which ensures the emulsification (breakdown) of fats and the absorption of most of the nutrients. The unilateral evacuation of food into the duodenum is supported by the reflexive opening and closing of the pyloric sphincter (pylorus). It also prevents retrograde (backward) flow of the bolus.
Improper functioning of the sphincter (its insufficient locking), as well as hypertension in the duodenum associated with chronic duodenitis, can cause bile to flow back into the stomach - duodenogastric reflux.
Often this disorder provokes the presence of inflammatory processes in the stomach (gastritis), duodenum (duodenitis), gallbladder (cholecystitis, biliary dyskinesia), pancreas (pancreatitis), and surgical interventions, namely:
- cholecystectomy;
- gastric resection;
- vagotomy;
- gastroenterostomy;
- enterostomy.
Why is the tincture bitter? How to remove bitterness from tincture
It often happens that when preparing homemade tincture recipes, bitterness appears in the final drink. The reasons for this effect may be different. For some drinks this is normal (for example, in the case of tincture of galangal, rowan, cranberry, anise and some other herbs and berries). Almost always, bitterness accompanies tinctures on nut shells, especially if the infusion period was long. However, the appearance of a bitter taste is not always due to the specifics of the raw material. Let's look at the main reasons and methods for getting rid of excessive bitterness.
Why is the tincture bitter?
There may be several reasons for this:
- features of the nature of the ingredients (herbs, nuts and their shells, rich in bitter and tannin substances);
- low quality ingredients (long-stored or old herbs, nuts, dried berries);
- long infusion period (the longer, the more substances pass into alcohol. For example, from berry seeds).
Sometimes the tincture becomes bitter if the quality of the alcohol base is poor (for example, if low-quality moonshine was used). To avoid the influence of this reason, it is best to use a pure, high-quality product obtained using modern equipment (we recommend paying attention to the Luxstahl 8m moonshine still).
How to remove bitterness from tincture
If the result is too much bitterness or there shouldn’t have been any in the drink, you can use the following methods:
- use of special activated carbon brands BAU, KAU. These brands are specialized for the alcoholic beverage industry and help purify alcohol from impurities. However, remember that they will take on not only bitterness, but also other aromatic components. Therefore, the taste of the tincture as a whole will be a little poorer;
- adding juice/tonic. The result is a cocktail version, and do this immediately before consumption. In general, there are several recommendations on how to drink bitters. For example, tomato and citrus juices, as well as some types of other alcohol, go well with bitter and spicy liqueurs;
- softening bitterness with honey or glucose syrup. The sweetness will smooth out the harsh notes, but the main thing in this matter is not to overdo it.
How to remove bitterness from rowan tincture
Rowan itself is bitter, especially if it was collected before the first frost. If you overdosed the drink or added too many berries, you can try to soften the taste with honey, glucose solution or food glycerin. However, it is honey that will fit in as organically as possible. Start with minimal amounts of sweetener in a test volume of the tincture, and only after choosing the desired proportion, add honey to the main volume of the drink.
How to remove bitterness from alcohol tinctures
Any of the methods described above. Sometimes the bitterness is enhanced by the hardness of the alcohol (especially if it is of mediocre quality). In this case, softening will also help (you can use food grade glycerin), but cleaning with charcoal will not help, since a slight release of aldehyde during such cleaning will make the alcohol even more “vigorous”.
