The short answer
Treatment can change how food tastes and smells — sometimes making food taste bland, bitter, or metallic. Trying different foods, marinades, seasonings, and plastic utensils may help. Taste often gets much better after treatment ends.
Treatment can change taste and smell, sometimes making food taste bland or metallic.
Experiment — foods you disliked before might taste fine now, and vice versa.
Seasonings, marinades, and tart flavors may make food more appealing.
Plastic forks and spoons may help with a metallic taste.
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The whole article, with every detail and caution.
This page is for anyone whose food tastes strange during cancer treatment, and for the people who cook for them. It covers why taste changes, what to try, and when to call your care team.
The simple version
If food suddenly tastes bland, metallic, or just 'off,' you are not imagining it. Some treatments change taste and smell. It is usually temporary. A little experimenting can help you find foods that taste good to you right now.
Ideas that may help
Small changes in what you eat, and how you eat it, are the place to start. Try these, and keep what works for you:
- Experiment. Foods you disliked before might taste fine now.
- Add herbs, spices, or marinades to boost flavor.
- Try tart flavors like lemon, if your mouth is not sore.
- If beef tastes or smells strange, try chicken or turkey.
- Use plastic forks and spoons, and glass pots and pans, to cut a metallic taste.
- Serve foods at room temperature and keep them covered if smells bother you.
There's no single fix — keep trying, and use whatever tastes good to you.
Keeping up your nutrition
Finding foods that taste good matters because your body still needs fuel. The goal is to keep eating enough, even when your usual favorites do not appeal. A registered dietitian can offer ideas that fit you. Brushing and flossing to keep your mouth clean may help food taste better too.
What to expect
NCI says taste changes often get much better after treatment ends. Tell your care team if eating becomes hard or if you are losing weight, because they can help.
A note on your care
This information is educational and is not a substitute for medical advice. For your own care, talk with your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, registered dietitian, or care team.
When to get help sooner
Taste changes on their own are not an emergency. But they often come alongside mouth and throat problems, and those can be.
- Call your care team at once, day or night, if you run a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher during chemotherapy. CDC treats that as a medical emergency, because fever may be the only sign of an infection your body cannot fight. If they cannot be reached quickly, go to an emergency department and say you are on chemotherapy.
- Call your care team the same day if pain in your mouth, lips, or throat makes it hard to eat, drink, or sleep. NCI gives that exact advice for mouth and throat problems during treatment.
- Call your care team right away if you cannot keep fluids down, or you have not passed urine in 8 hours. For emergencies, call 911 or go to the ER.
- Call your care team within a day or two if you see white patches or sores in your mouth. Also call if food tasting wrong is making you eat so little that you are losing weight. NCI says to report a loss of more than 3 to 5 pounds in one week.
Sources
Common questions
Why does food taste different during treatment?
Some cancer treatments can affect taste and smell. Food may have less taste, or some foods may taste bitter or like metal. Smells may change too. These changes often get much better after treatment ends.
What can make food taste better?
Experiment, since preferences may change day to day. Marinating meats, adding herbs and spices, or using tart flavors (if your mouth isn't sore) can help. If beef tastes or smells strange, try chicken or turkey.
What about a metallic taste?
NCI suggests eating with plastic forks and spoons, and cooking in glass pots instead of metal ones. Keeping your mouth clean by brushing and flossing can also help food taste better.
Will my taste come back?
NCI says taste changes often get much better after treatment ends. Tell your care team if eating becomes hard or you're losing weight.
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Get urgent help
Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher during chemo, severe pain, or trouble breathing: call your cancer care team right away, day or night. Call 911 for an emergency.
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Last updated: 2026-09-29Next planned review: 2027-07-07
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How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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