Humans can taste only five flavors: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. Although we don’t often think about it, our sense of taste is incredibly important. It helps us avoid foods that are bad for our health and identify the foods that will keep us healthy. In some cases, an altered sense of taste can indicate an underlying medical condition. For example, having a metallic or bitter taste in your mouth can be a sign of copper or iron deficiency. Pregnant women often experience a heightened sense of smell and a lowered ability to taste salt until around the sixth month. The change in senses usually returns to normal after giving birth. Let’s take a look at why water tastes sweet when you are sick.
Why Does Water Taste Sweet When You Are Sick?
Water can taste sweet when you are sick because your body is trying to tell you that you need more sugar. When you are sick, your body’s metabolism slows down and you don’t need as much sugar. Your body will release a hormone called insulin to try to get rid of the extra sugar in your system. This can make your water taste sweet.
What Causes Water to Taste Sweet When Sick?
The Sugar in Your Stomach
When you’re sick, your body produces a chemical called gastrin. Gastrin is a very important hormone that helps regulate the production of stomach acid and motility. Gastrin also stimulates the production of saliva, which helps to break down food in your stomach. When you’re sick, your stomach is producing more gastrin than it normally would. This increase in gastrin can make the water in your stomach taste sweet as it breaks down sugar molecules.
The Salt in Your Stomach
Your body has a natural defense mechanism against bacterial and viral infections called the vomiting reflex. The vomiting reflex is activated when you eat or drink something that tastes bad; this causes your brain to send signals to your digestive system to produce what’s called “vomiting center waves” which stimulate muscles in the esophagus and upper digestive tract to contract, causing you to vomit. When you are sick, some of these waves travel through your esophagus and into your stomach where they stimulate further contraction of muscles that relax the sphincter muscle around the opening of your stomach (the lower end of the esophagus). This allows food particles from inside your stomach that is not being broken down by gastric juices from above (from saliva) to move back up into the mouth for further digestion by enzymes secreted from within glands at the base of your tongue called salivary glands. Some scientists believe these waves also stimulate the production of gastrin in your stomach, which can lead to a sweet taste in your water.
The Bile in Your Stomach
The bile produced in your liver is responsible for breaking down and digesting fats, cholesterol, and other molecules. When you are sick, bile is produced in your liver at a higher rate than normal. This extra bile can make the water in your stomach taste sweet as it breaks down sugar molecules.
The Stomach Flu Virus
When you get the stomach flu, you may notice that your urine or stool looks darker than normal. The staining of the stool is caused by a virus called the Norwalk virus which is also responsible for causing diarrhea. When you are sick with the stomach flu, the virus can make your water taste sweet due to an overproduction of gastric juices in your stomach (caused by an increase in gastrin). This overproduction makes the water taste sweet because of an increased breakdown of sugars by enzymes secreted from within glands at the base of your tongue called salivary glands.
A Stomach Infection
Some bacteria like E-coli can cause a bitter taste to develop when they infect someone’s digestive system. The bacteria produce chemicals that stick to minerals in our body, which cause us to have a bitter taste in our mouth when we get sick with E-coli infection because it sticks to our minerals and makes them harden and clump together (which causes us to be nauseous). When we get sick with E-coli infection, we often experience nausea as well as a bitter taste in our mouth.
Stomach Cancer
The non-cancerous growths called adenomas that can develop in the walls of your stomach are responsible for producing a foul odor to your stool or urine, which is sometimes described as “fishy” or “burnt”. The odor is caused by bacteria that can also cause a sour taste in your mouth when you get sick with E-coli infection because it sticks to our minerals and makes them harden and clump together (which causes us to be nauseous). When we get sick with E-coli infection, we often experience nausea as well as a bitter taste in our mouth.
The Science Behind The Taste Of Water When Sick
The Sense of Taste Is Decreased During a Cold
The sense of taste is decreased during a cold, and it’s not just because of the taste buds. Researchers have found that the nerves in the tongue are also weakened during colds. This means that you won’t be able to detect the different flavors in foods or drinks.
The Taste of Water Changes When You Are Sick
Water tastes sweet when you are sick because when your body is fighting an illness, it wants to use up energy as quickly as possible. Since water is calorie-free, it makes sense that your body will try to make up for this calorie deficit by making water sweeter than usual.
Water Is a Source of Hydration for Your Body When You Are Sick
When you are sick, your body needs more water than usual in order to fight off the illness and replenish itself with fluids and nutrients. Since there isn’t much water in food and drink, drinking more of it helps your body get its daily quota of hydration without having to eat or drink anything else.
Your Body Uses Less Water When You Are Sick
When you are sick, your body uses less energy than usual so it can conserve fluid and other resources that would normally be used for other functions such as digestion or muscle contraction. If you aren’t eating or drinking enough calories every day, your body will use up its stored reserves before they can be replenished with the number of calories you need to function.
Water is the Best Source of Hydration for Your Body When You Are Sick
Water is the best source of hydration for your body when you are sick because water can be easily digested and absorbed into your system. This means that you won’t have to worry about feeling bloated or gassy, which can be a common side effect of drinking too much liquid.
Your Body Uses More Fluids When You Are Sick
When you are sick, your body uses more fluids than usual so that it can fight off the illness and heal itself as quickly as possible. Since water is calorie-free, it makes sense that your body will try to make up for this calorie deficit by making water sweeter than usual when you are sick in order to increase its volume and make it easier to digest.
4 Possible Reasons Water Tastes Sweeter When Sick
- The water may be contaminated with bacteria that change the taste of the water.
- The bacteria in your mouth and throat can change the taste of your water.
- The altered sense of taste may be caused by a bacterial infection in your body.
- You may be producing extra mucus when you are sick, which can cause other things to taste sweet as well.
Conclusion
When we are sick, we may experience tastes that are more pronounced or that we don’t normally experience. While this is sometimes annoying, it can be helpful for determining what is causing the extra taste. If you notice that your water tastes sweeter when you are sick, try to determine whether other things in your water are contributing to that sweetness. If so, you can take steps to remove the additional tastes, such as rinsing your water bottle or changing your water filter. If you are sick, try to remain hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Water is important for both health and taste, and it is one of the best ways to ease an illness.