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Does food taste different to you now on paleo? I was eating a sweet potato today and realized that I now LOVE the taste of sweet potato whereas I used to vaguely not care for it, preferring regular potatoes. And my ability to taste natural sweetness in foods like fruit or carrots is now much enhanced. With the change in my biology has come a very radical change in even the basic functioning of my taste buds. Anyone else notice this?

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absolutely!! anything with added salt is WAY too salty now...I actually prefer unsalted butter!! – mzrdnan Apr 15 2012 at 18:49

24 Answers

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I can detect the presence of MSG in food, even when negligible for other people.

I cannot stand artificial flavors, they really taste chemical...

In general, I have a heightened sense of taste: food that before tasted pretty good is now fantastic, and food that tasted pretty bad is now disgusting.

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Yeah, seems like same for me. I can't believe I used to eat all that grocery store processed fodder and think it tasted good. – Eva Jan 13 2011 at 16:49
I agree word for word! Right on Paola. – FuelRestMotion Aug 14 2011 at 0:10
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Absolutely! Sugar now tastes overwhelmingly sweet, sometimes unpleasantly so. And my sense of smell is enhanced as well. Now I can smell chocolate from across the room... And I haven't even been paleo for very long!

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That's true, I can smell carbs for a mile and I usually know the exact source, be it noodles or potatoes or whatever. Interesting considering I still eat fruit and sometimes potato, so I am still eating moderate carb. – Eva Jan 13 2011 at 6:11
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Sugary stuff has definitely got a stronger smell for me, too. A fun-size bag of m&ms on the other side of a conference table is now completely distracting for me. Very overpowering. – Ali Jan 13 2011 at 20:48
Same here, a lot of candies are overly sweet for me now as well. Same with regular sodas. Can't say I've noticed a difference with smells though. – James Jan 14 2011 at 19:49
When I started, I used to go to a favorite Chinese Restaurant near work for a meat-and-veggie dish (anything NOT named "Sweet & Sour ..."). I had to stop going there at all: everything just tastes like candy. – CaveRat Jun 28 2011 at 18:56
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Me, too. Sweetness is the big one. Animal fats now taste so much better, too, and the mouth-feel of fat - wow!

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yumm i love some good beef fat. – MelissaC Jun 28 2011 at 18:23
Likewise. The first time I tasted my homemade beef tallow I was disappointed - it was too 'gritty' in my mouth. The next day I couldn't stop myself and ate almost a cup of the stuff, spoonful at a time. I've since slowed down a lot but still love it straight. – CaveRat Jun 28 2011 at 18:59
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To me, bacon tastes better than any candybar I have ever eaten. Fat has replaced sweet crap for me. Although I never had a "sweet tooth" bacon satisfies my new "fat tooth". lol

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I have to say, I have noticed bacon tastes even better now. A plus to paleo! – James Jan 14 2011 at 19:52
@Aaron - "Curl" is an unusual last name. I only notice because it's MY last name too :-) ... – CaveRat Jun 28 2011 at 19:10
Awesome! Maybe were related – Aaron Curl Jul 2 2011 at 17:38
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Oh wait, I don't know why I didn't think of this last night when I was reading this thread: I think I have a much better ability to taste rancidity in fats and oils. This might just be because I am looking for it now, but I am always bothered if meat has been fried incorrectly (e.g. if something was hanging out in the pan beforehand) and I really think I can detect the presence of nasty vegetable oils.

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Good point. I now find that I can't stand the smell that comes out of In and Out burger. I used to eat there a lot because they have those protein burgers (no bun). The smell is from their cooking oil which makes for a (to me) very powerful smell of rancid vegetable oil. – Eva Jan 14 2011 at 20:00
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everything has flavor now. Bad food is very quickly detectable.

I eat spinach, before youd have had trouble with a gun to my head. It has flavor now!

Things that werent sweet before are now. Things that were sweet are so sickly gross that I cant eat them. Food Smells different too. Bread smells like death, wheat pasta smells cloying. Some plants dont smell good, so I dont eat them.

The Farmers market is a completely surreal experience now.

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My taste in food has changed significantly over the last 5 years. I have made an effort to eat things because they were good for me whether I like them or not. In quite a few cases, I have actually come to LOVE the new foods, like asparagus, sweet potato, all types of squashes, dark chocolate, coconut.

There are still some things I cannot eat, peas, brussel sprouts and cottage cheese will always been gross.

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Maybe you're not fixing the sprouts properly? If you're so motivated, try streaming them for about 6-8 minutes, then sauteing them in a hot pan of either butter (yum!) or bacon fat (YUM!) until they get a little caramelized. A dash of kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. I thought I'd hate them but my wife and I can hardly get enough! – Casey Jan 13 2011 at 14:27
I wish, Kent. My husband loves them, so I make them all the time. I eat a couple every time, hoping to change my mind. – sherpamelissa Jan 13 2011 at 14:38
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I'm with you on the brussels sprouts. I've tried several times to no avail. – Ali Jan 13 2011 at 20:49
Melissa, have you tried separating the leaves and baking them like kale chips? – kinetic Jan 13 2011 at 22:56
Nope, Kinetic, I haven't! But honestly, I think I'm okay with not liking brussel spouts. :p I've improved my intake of different vegetables and fruits so much over the last 6 years, I'll take that one. I need to work on organ meats and stuff next, I think. – sherpamelissa Jan 14 2011 at 2:11
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YES! This past summer I finally realized why tomatoes are a fruit! I vividly remember turning to my husband after taking a bite into a cherry tomato and saying 'TASTE THIS!'

Likewise, I never cared for sweet potatoes now they are one of my favorite foods. I also found out that I actually like brussel sprouts (cooked them with spicy italian sausage...mmm so good with that grease and a little grass-fed butter)

Next on my list to try is collard greens.

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collard greens are one of my new favorite foods. My favorite way to cook them is to saute them with some bacon and onions. – MelissaC Jun 28 2011 at 18:25
Now this is an almost frightening thought: I've hated tomatoes my entire life, with the exception of salsa fresca (I don't know why - maybe the onions do something to my taste buds?). Could it be that I like them now and don't know it yet? Experiment pending... – CaveRat Jun 28 2011 at 19:14
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Yes, but I also now tolerate more bitter and sour tastes. I drink a glass of water with a quarter tsp of vitamin C every day, and when I first started it was horrendously sour, but now I hardly notice it.

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ABSOLUTELY! I had some blueberries and it was like eating sweets! I used o find them quite sour, I love that factor, my friend was like "Oh I couldn't eat the way you do I have such a sweet tooth" but the point is your tastes do adapt don't they! Give me a spoonful of Kerry gold over a haribo anyday :D

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Normal SAD diet leads to zinc deficiency. Zinc plays an important role in taste and smell.

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Yes - I'm eating things I hated - broccoli, cauliflower, and some others. I drink coffee black when I used to load it up with way more sugar than I care to admit, and a ton of skim milk (because hey, fat's bad, right?).

I still can't abide the feel of solid porcine or bovine fat on a steak or chop though, even though I love what happens when it melts :)

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Eggs, I was never really a fan of, but it's shifted from the marginal side to the palatable side for me.

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Like others, I've cut out all sweeteners, both natural and artificial. Some fruits now seem overpoweringly sweet. Vegetables that used to seem bland, like squash and pumpkin, have a satisfying sweetness. I also now drink coffee and tea without any artificial gunk and I can actually enjoy and appreciate them for their unique tastes. This was a great discovery but I could almost kick myself for denying myself these simple pleasures for so many years.

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Exactly as above – Kimble Aug 14 2011 at 6:44
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Fruit is candy. Heavy cream is my favorite food. And eggs taste kinda sweet. That one's kinda weird but scrambled eggs with cinnamon tastes like dessert.

I've also grown to appreciate spices much more, and I can detect them in dishes that I wouldn't have noticed before.

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Aside from the normal sugar is too sweet and such, I've really noticed that I don't like chicken as much as I used to. It used to be my go-to meat, but now I much more prefer any red meats; lamb, goat, beef. Chicken is always just an afterthought/last choice these days.

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I used to drink Coke with meals, and 2 or 3 cans in an afternoon if I was hungover. YECH! I tried a sip of some Coke the other day, and it made want to vomit, and hurt my teeth!

I also had a few kernels of popcorn from my girlfriend's bag at the movies last night...and it tasted like CANDY! Seriously, it tasted like Kix cereal, so sweet and cereal-y. Never experienced that before.

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Completely changed from wanting sugar to wanting fat. The taste of avocado used to be horrible, now I eat one in 10 minutes and, while I don't enjoy it as much as meat, I like it. I've been paleo for a week, but I don't eat fruit and nuts. I'm still tempted by candy and all that, but I can control it way better.

I still have to try out fatty meat.

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Wait until you make your own beef tallow - you'll be spooning it out of the jar like ice cream :-) – CaveRat Jun 28 2011 at 19:15
I have had a similar experience with avocado. Its gone from mushy green stuff to delicious creamy must have salad addition. – Kimble Aug 14 2011 at 6:45
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Oh my gosh - I work at a children's museum and after 2 strict weeks on paleo (just started) a lady delivered a birthday cake for a party and when I opened the box (to check the name of the kid!) the smell of the sugar in that cake literally made me take a few steps back! I'm actually praying though for my change in taste buds because I'm so insanely picky it seems like I keep eating the same things over and over and over again. I'll be having sweet potato tonight for dinner and hope that I get the same response others have noted and find a new fav when I have never been a big fan of the sp. But I'm noticing subtle changes (in smell/taste) all the time.

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The first thing that I noticed was peanut butter. I used to love PB I could eat it with a spoon right from the jar. After a couple weeks of paleo I had some again and it lost its yumminess. It tasted way too sweet and too salty and just gross.

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I eat the fresh-ground stuff almost as a dessert or a 'binge' food when I can't find something else. I never used to like it much before - too 'bleh'. Now it's the closest thing I eat as a 'high carb' indulgence! – CaveRat Jun 28 2011 at 19:17
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When I eat something cooked in canola oil I can taste it immediately because canola oil tastes RANK. This was actually true before paleo, but for some reason back then I only noticed the flavour if the food had been cooled. It also smells horrible.
I can't eat the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes anymore because they taste a little too sweet to me. A few weeks ago I had a few bites of a brand of bagel I used to adore (Mount Royal Bagel Factory for the other BCers here) They used to be literally the only food I couldn't keep around because I would finish them off so quickly. After the second bite I realised they actually just taste like most other commercial bread products- overly sweetened, dry and pasty at the same time. I still have a bit of a weakness for really great artisan bread though, but I figure a few slices of sourdough once a month won't kill me.

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Definitely, one thing I didn't like before but can not stand now are artificial sweeteners - tastes like a bad science experiment when I inadvertently drink some. While visiting a friend recently and drinking a "sugar free" ice coffee they had offered me, I nearly gagged at the first sip, it was that overwhelming sickly artificial taste.

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YES, definitely I am now experimenting with many foods I hated before and loving them. Also finding that anything processed tastes really bad, food made with oils that I don't use leaves a nasty film in my mouth that stays for hours. Eating to me now is really fun.

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strawberries and peaches taste like they are made of sugar. I had beefburger today. It wasnt best quality and tasted awful. I could taste nasty fat.

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