Normally, Water is believed to be tasteless. It is the baseline in which all the flavors dissolve and gives you sense of different stimulus.
If water tastes sweet, sour, bitter or any other flavor then that can be because of two reasons:
- Minerals and chemicals present alters water taste. Elements other than hydrogen and oxygen – imbalances gives it a metallic tint and a chlorine like smell. Sometimes even the pH and alkaline levels alteration can be a reason for water tasting a little bitter.
- Water tastes similar to what you consumed just prior to drinking it. For example – If you had something sugary water taste becomes sweet. This is commonly known as “Aftertastes of water”. Our taste cells adapt to the stimulus of the taste of food because even they have a little memory. This is same like an after-image observed after a dark colored picture.
As you drink water (which is mostly tasteless) – the taste buds give you the stimulus of what they have tasted just prior to it.
So don’t panic if water seems to taste sweet to you!
Table of Contents
- Why does water taste sweeter to me?
- Tips to improve your drinking water quality
- What causes a sweet taste in the mouth?
- Is a sweet taste in mouth diabetes?
- Can menopause cause a sugary taste in mouth?
Why does water taste sweeter to me?
- Some minerals especially calcium and iron produces a sweet taste when present in large quantities. Tap Water is deliberately mixed with these minerals to make it a little bit sugared.
- Some individuals have extremely sensitive palates to sweetness. Little amount of sugar will make them feel like they have dipped their tongues in honey.
- Even your olfactory response can deceive you. A sweet smell present in water can sometimes make you feel you are tasting something sweet.
- Lastly – check your pipe lines and flush out the residues in your plumbing zones. Minerals and chemicals deposition in pipes can also be the reason your tap always delivers sweet water.
Although it is important that you enjoy fresh, clean water, balanced in it’s tastes. Water should not taste sugary!
Tips to improve your drinking water quality
Below are some steps which will help you improve the sense of taste of your drinking water.
- Clean the pipes and other valves – which might be the source of added unwanted minerals in your glass of water.
- Try Aeration and activated carbon filtration to remove undesirable taste and odor from regular tap water.
- You can also bring a filtered water cooler which will help neutralize over sweetness. It will also improve overall quality of your household drinking water.
- Go for chlorination once in 3 – 4 months.
- If you want more healthier water than add alkaline minerals which will adjust the pH’s.
- Air injections are also an option for Iron, Sulfur, and Manganese removal. It is a bit costlier, but after all it is for the liquid of life. So every penny spent is an investment on yourself and your family.
However if water always?tastes sweet to you even after all these filtration techniques then there may be some medical conditions which can be the reasons for this taste.
What causes a sweet taste in the mouth?
Sweetness is one the four basic tastes – which humans sense of. Our taste buds can perceive stimuli of sour, salt and bitter flavors (There is a fifth balanced flavor too – known as Umami which we can taste).
Natural sweeteners like honey, fructose rich fruits and raw sugar leaves a sweet note on tongues. Taste buds perceive the sweet taste, and activates the responsible hormones. These signals are then carried to neurons which carry the sensation to your brain resulting in sweet taste in your mouth.
All this is biologically normal.
But if you have a sweet taste in your mouth – always – for instance water always tastes sweet – then there are certain medical conditions you need to evaluate.
Below is a list of possibilities which can cause a persistent sugary flavor:
- Diabetes
- Ketoacidosis
- Infections
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Lung Cancer
- Neurological conditions
- Pregnancy
- Medications
- Low-carb dieting
This is not medical advice. Please see your doctor if you are concerned about your health or plan to make any changes to your lifestyle.
Is a sweet taste in mouth diabetes?
The most common of all the possibilities for a sweet flavor in mouth or especially water taste sweet – is Diabetes and Ketoacidosis.
Diabetes affects insulin which control’s blood sugar levels. If it inhibits insulin production – then sugar levels rise in the blood stream. This is the reason – diabetic patients might have a sugary feel always.
Sweet taste is accompanied by other symptoms too. Check for other indicators. If you find something unusual – get yourself diagnosed.
Diabetes may also cause Ketoacidosis. This results in the consumption of fats by the body and leaving behind sugars. The outcome is access build up of Ketones – an acid.
Ketoacidosis is a serious medical complication which should not be taken lightly. And one of the signs indicating excess keytones is a sweet fruity smell and taste in your mouth (or in your water).
Can menopause cause a sugary taste in mouth?
Menopause causes a lot of physical and emotional changes in women nearing fifties and above.
There is a huge misconception that water may taste sweet when you reach menopause. In fact the science is quite opposite.
Menopause cause a drop in?estrogen?levels as the ovaries stop producing eggs. A drop in estrogen levels reduces the amount of moisture available (not just affecting below abdominal regions, but impacts the whole body).
So basically when estrogen is reduced your skin, eyes, sinuses, vagina and your mouth loses moisture. This results in lesser saliva production.
Saliva is the fluid which breaks down the food and dissolves them – and then taste buds can sense tastes. As saliva decreases so does your sensation of taste. For this reason even sugars don’t taste sweet prior to what they used to. Forget water tasting sugary!
In fact women nearing menopause have a constant bitter, metallic feel and mostly water does not have a sweet taste to the.
