Medical Oncologist
Taste and appetite
How to make food taste better during chemotherapy
Chemotherapy affects the taste buds and reduces the saliva that carries flavour to them, so food tastes metallic, bitter or of nothing at all. The answer is not more of what you used to like. It is sharper, more sour and more aromatic cooking, which a dulled palate still registers, and an Indian kitchen is unusually well equipped for it.
NG
Medically reviewed by Dr. Naresh GunduConsultant Medical Oncologist · MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology, AIIMS) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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The short answer
Why does everything taste of metal or of nothing?
Chemotherapy affects the taste buds and the cells that renew them, and it reduces saliva, which is what carries flavour to those buds in the first place. The result is food that tastes metallic, bitter, of cardboard, or of nothing at all. It is one of the most common effects of treatment and one of the least warned about.
The practical answer is not to eat more of what you used to like. It is to change what you cook towards sharp, sour and aromatic flavours, which cut through a dulled palate better than sweet or salty ones do. An Indian kitchen is unusually well equipped for this.
Why it matters beyond the enjoyment
People who cannot taste their food stop eating it, and weight loss during treatment is what causes delays, dose changes and a harder recovery between cycles. Making food taste of something is not a comfort measure. It is how the eating keeps going.
It changes through the cycle
Taste is usually worst in the days after a cycle and better before the next one. Something refused this week is often accepted the following week, so keep offering rather than crossing things off the list for good.
Metal cutlery makes the metallic taste worse for many people. Plastic or wooden spoons are a free thing to try tonight.From the Indian kitchen
Flavours that cut through a dulled palate
Sharp, sour and aromatic work when sweet and salty have stopped registering. Everything here is already in most houses.
Sour
Tamarind, lemon, raw mango, amchur, tomato and curd give food an edge that a dulled palate still picks up. A squeeze of lemon over rice or dal at the table often does more than an hour of cooking.
Only if
- The mouth is not sore or ulcerated
- Acidity is not a problem
Aromatic
Mint, coriander, curry leaves, ginger, asafoetida and a fresh tempering. Smell carries much of what we call taste, and these register when flavour on the tongue does not.
Strong cooking smells can trigger sickness. Cook with a window open, or let someone else cook.Texture and temperature
Cool food carries less smell and often tastes better during treatment. Something crisp alongside something soft gives the mouth more to notice. Curd rice with a crunchy side works on both counts.
When meat tastes wrong
Red meat is the commonest thing to turn metallic. Move to chicken, fish, egg, paneer, dal and soya rather than dropping protein altogether. Marinating in curd, lemon and spice before cooking helps a lot.
Good swaps
- Egg and paneer in place of mutton
- Dal and rajma for vegetarian households
When everything tastes bitter
Rinse with salt and baking soda water before eating, which clears the palate. A little jaggery or sugar in savoury food cuts bitterness. Avoid bitter gourd and strong greens while it lasts.
When everything tastes of nothing
Lean on smell, texture and temperature instead of flavour. Warm ghee, fresh coriander, a crisp papad if the mouth allows. Eat with other people, because the setting genuinely changes how much goes down.
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistAround the meal
Small habits that make food taste better
Clean the mouth first
Brush gently, or rinse with salt and baking soda water before eating. A coated mouth tastes of itself, and clearing it is the single most effective thing on this page.
Sip through the meal
Saliva carries flavour, and there is less of it. Water, buttermilk or thin dal water taken alongside each few mouthfuls helps both taste and swallowing.
Change the cutlery and the plate
Plastic or wooden spoons instead of steel, and a plate that is not the one associated with a bad meal. Small changes, and several people find them the ones that work.
Eat when taste is at its best
For most people that is earlier in the day and further from the last cycle. Put the largest meal at the time that works rather than at the time the household usually eats.
Keep trying things that failed
Taste shifts through the cycle. Offer small amounts of a rejected food again a week later rather than removing it from the kitchen. Many things come back.
!
One thing that cannot wait
If taste changes have gone along with a mouth that is too sore to eat, and the person has stopped drinking, do not wait it out. Someone on chemotherapy who cannot take fluids becomes dehydrated within a day or two. Go to the nearest emergency department the same day and say clearly that they are on chemotherapy. A fever alongside a sore mouth needs the same response, that day rather than the next morning.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you which of these will work for you. Taste changes are unusually personal — the same drug leaves one person with a metallic mouth and another with no taste at all, and what helps differs just as much. This is a page to experiment from rather than follow.
It also cannot tell you how long it will last. For most people taste returns gradually over the weeks and months after treatment ends, and it is usually one of the later things to come back rather than one of the first. Some people notice it is never quite the same, and that possibility is worth knowing rather than being surprised by.
What it should not be used for
Do not use taste changes as a reason to cut out food groups or start a restrictive diet. Losing weight during treatment causes far more harm than eating an unbalanced week of whatever goes down. Anything is better than nothing while the taste is bad.
What to do next
Try the salt and baking soda rinse before your next meal and swap the steel spoon for a plastic one. Weigh weekly and write it down. If weight is falling or eating has dropped away, tell your team, because a dietitian can help and it may change what is given before the next cycle.
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Questions we are asked
Common questions about taste changes
Why does everything taste metallic?
Chemotherapy affects the taste buds and the cells that renew them, and it reduces saliva, which normally carries flavour to those buds. Some drugs are also excreted into the saliva itself. Red meat and steel cutlery tend to make it worse, so swapping both is a reasonable first move.
Will my taste come back?
For most people it returns gradually over the weeks and months after treatment finishes. It tends to be one of the later effects to settle rather than one of the first, so patience is needed. A minority notice some lasting change, particularly if radiotherapy to the head and neck was part of the plan.
Is it safe to add more salt or spice to make food taste of something?
Usually yes, unless the mouth is sore or you have been given specific advice about salt for heart or kidney reasons. If the mouth is ulcerated, chilli and acid will sting badly, and in that situation aromatic flavours like mint and coriander are the safer way to add interest.
He says food smells make him feel sick. What can we do?
Cook with a window open or let someone else cook, serve food cool rather than hot, and keep him out of the kitchen while it is being made. Cold food carries far less smell. If sickness is this prominent, tell the team — the anti-sickness plan can usually be adjusted.
Should he take zinc for taste changes?
Ask your team before starting any supplement. Zinc is often suggested for this and the evidence is genuinely mixed rather than convincing. More importantly, supplements can interact with treatment, so it is not something to start on a relative's recommendation.
Does a sore mouth change this advice?
Yes, considerably. Sour and spicy flavours are the best tools for a dulled palate and the worst thing for an ulcerated one. If the mouth is sore, drop the lemon and tamarind, keep food cool, soft and bland, and come back to the sharper flavours once it has settled.
She has gone off her favourite foods completely. Will that last?
Often not, but it can persist if a particular food gets linked to feeling sick. It helps not to serve a much-loved dish on treatment days, so it does not become associated with sickness. Keep offering small amounts of other things and reintroduce favourites later.
Is it worth eating if he cannot taste anything?
Yes, and this is the point worth insisting on gently. The body needs the calories and the protein whether or not the meal is enjoyable, and weight loss during treatment causes real problems later. Focus on what is easiest to get down rather than what is most appealing.
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Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Nutrition in Cancer Care (PDQ)
- Cancer Research UK — Taste changes and cancer drugs
- Macmillan Cancer Support — Taste changes
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
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