Aside from morning sickness, many physical surprises may happen during pregnancy. Digestion is slowing down to accommodate your pregnancy, and your body’s hormones are making massive adjustments. It’s not unlikely that you will experience insomnia, fatigue, or even lethargy, sore breasts, and bloating. There are odder symptoms such as a metallic taste in your mouth.
The lowdown on metallic taste during pregnancy
The technical name for the metallic taste you might experience before you even know you’re pregnant is called dysgeusia, which you might notice sounds an awful lot like “disgusting.” Dysgeusia isn’t limited to the flavor of pennies corroding in your mouth; you might also notice a sour or bitter flavor.
Dysgeusia comes from the same origins as nausea and vomiting—which is to say, we don’t really know why it happens from a Western point of view. Although, we can surmise that the notable changes in the secretion of hormones that occurs during this stage may be partially responsible.
Chinese medicine relates sour and bitter flavor profiles to the action of the Liver, which as you now know from this previous post, is an active system during this time, and women who experience severe nausea and vomiting (also a Liver-driven theme) tend to be the ones who also experience dysgeusia.
It’s also common to develop an enhanced sense of smell during pregnancy, which is intimately connected to your sense of taste. Like nausea and vomiting, dysgeusia typically recedes or disappears altogether in the second trimester.
How to troubleshoot and treat metallic taste
- Assess your current medications (some medications can cause a metallic taste).
- Make sure you’re taking your prenatal vitamin to get enough B12 and zinc, as those deficiencies can be a potential source of the metallic taste.
- Check out your oral health with your dentist (and be sure they’re well-versed in preganacy-safe dentistry modifications).
- Drink the Morning mocktail recipe below—it might help override the unpleasant taste as well as strengthen your digestion.
- Concoct and swish with this Green Tea Mouthwash:
Recipe for refreshing green tea mouthwash
Ingredients
1 teaspoon powdered green tea (also known as Matcha)
Directions
- Dissolve and mix the powder in warm water and swish and spit to enhance antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity in your mouth.
Morning mocktail recipe
Ingredients
Celery, beet greens, dandelion greens, parsley, cilantro, swiss chard, kale, pineapple chunks
A small piece of chopped ginger root
Coconut water
Coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Directions
Put a handful of each or some (depending on availability and inclination) of the above veggies in a blender, with equal parts coconut water and coconut milk to mask the “greenness” a bit and increase electrolytes and subsequent hydration.
Strain through fine mesh if your blender doesn’t liquefy the ingredients. Enjoy!