10 Common causes behind sour or bitter taste in your mouth
It is expected to have a sour taste in your mouth when you eat something bitter, such as chicory or black coffee. It is not natural to have a persistent bitter taste in your mouth, irrespective of what you eat or drink, and may signify one of several conditions of health. It is not always a serious problem to have a bitter taste in your mouth, but this can conflict with your daily life and impact your diet.
Some of the causes of sore or bitter taste in your mouth are
1) Dry mouth
The dry mouth sensation, also defined as xerostomia, may be caused by a reduction in salivary production or a change in saliva composition. Some of the factors that cause dryness in the mouth are age, some drugs, Sjögren syndrome (an autoimmune disease that cause excessive dryness in eyes and mouth), and Cigarette smoking
2) Dehydration
One of the simple reasons
for sour taste is of not drinking enough water. Dehydration will dry your mouth
and alter your taste. To improve your hydration, drink at least six to eight
glasses of water every day
3) Zinc Deficiency
Deficiency in zinc is also
a major cause of taste disturbance. Zinc boosts the concentration of a protein
called gustin. Our body uses this to produce taste buds. This deficiency in
zinc may be associated with a shortage of zinc in a diet, low zinc absorption
in the intestines, and the use of some chronic medicines.
4) Smoking
Another common reason is smoking. It also lessens your taste sense and may leave your mouth with an unpleasant taste or sour. Smoking also affects preventable diseases and causes death.
5) Acid reflux or Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
There will be a muscle that opens and closes the openings in between the stomach and the esophagus. After eating, if that muscle doesn’t close properly, the acid in our stomach and food will travel back to the esophagus. This is another reason for sour or bitter taste in your mouth.
6) Illness
When you have sinus, cold, or other infections, your body automatically generates some kind of proteins from different cells of the body. These proteins will affect the taste buds, so if you are sick, you will feel some bitterness or sour. When you get cured, the sour taste also gets away.
7) Medications
Not only infection or sickness leaves bitter taste in your mouth, but the medicines that you are taking to cure this sickness also have some remnants that will be excreted into the saliva. If those medicines have bitterness or metallic elements such as antibiotic tetracycline, lithium, and certain cardiac drugs, they produce a bitter taste in your mouth.
8) Burning mouth syndrome
As the name indicates, burning mouth syndrome causes a feeling of scalding or burning sensation in the mouth that may be very painful. Such symptoms might occur in one or all parts of the mouth. It can also cause a dry mouth feeling and a sour or metallic taste.
9) Pregnancy
The female estrogen hormone will fluctuate during the pregnancy period. Hence they will feel some bitter taste or metallic taste in their mouth. This bitter taste will get away after giving birth.
10) Poor oral hygiene
If you don’t brush and
floss regularly, it causes a sour taste in your mouth. You should brush your
teeth twice a day and floss at least once a day. Maintaining good oral hygiene
keeps your taste buds fresh.
Some tips to get rid off the bitter taste
- Drink more amount of water
- Chew sugar-free gums
- Brush and floss regularly
- Go for regular dental check-ups
- Avoid fatty or spicy foods
- Stop smoking cigarettes
- Limit alcohol consumption
Following good oral hygiene is essential, as it protects you from various other health issues.
