What could be the reason everything you eat tastes like fish?
More people than you think suffer with the problem of tasting something fishy every time they eat.
But what could make “everything you eat” have a fishy taste?
I posed this question to Carolyn Dean, MD, ND – Medical Advisory Board Member of the non-profit Nutritional Magnesium Association at nutritionalmagnesium.org.
Dr. Dean says this:
“I just know of this metabolic disorder. Fish odor syndrome (trimethylaminuria) is a rare metabolic disorder caused by a specific gene (FMO3) mutation.
“This gene mutation is caused by an autosomal recessive trait.
“It is estimated that approximately 1 percent of the population has this recessive trait, but it takes two copies of the gene to actually have the symptoms of the condition.
“If the mother and father both have one copy of the mutated gene, the child can develop the condition.
“This disorder is characterized by the inability to metabolize a compound (a byproduct of protein digestion) in the body called trimethyamine.
“As a result of this metabolic disorder, the breath, sweat and urine have a very strong odor of fish.”
If someone has this disorder, and much of the food they eat takes on a fishy flavor, it may be due to their trimethylaminuria – which they probably have not been diagnosed with, since it’s a rare condition.
On the other hand, it may very well be possible to experience a fishy taste in your foods when you don’t have this strange metabolic disorder.
It may be very enlightening to have a thorough workup with an ear, nose and throat doctor, as well as a gastroenterologist.
Acid reflux can cause unpleasant persistent tastes in the mouth, which can affect the taste of food.
