Usually, water has a natural taste due to the minerals in it. When we get an excess of these minerals in our water, it results in that sweet taste. Possibly health issues (like diabetes or carbohydrate deficiency) can also be the cause behind your water sweetness.
For the past few weeks, my water seemed to have this sweet taste. Every time I drank from my glass of water, I felt this sugary sweet taste and wondered if everyone else in my house was feeling the same. After asking everyone, it turned out that I was the only one experiencing this change of taste in our water.
I got a bit worried and did lots of research. Could you be experiencing a similar problem? I’ll share everything in this article and tell you everything I learned about the cause of a sweet water taste in your mouth.
What causes the sweet taste in water?
The sweet taste you feel whenever you drink your water might be caused by various reasons.
The sweetness might be resulting from the water itself
If you don’t seem to have a medical issue and everybody else in your home feels the same sweetness in your water, then your water is sweet, as you claim. Water tastes vary depending on the mineral concentrations or piping effect.
The excessive presence of minerals in water makes it sweet. For instance, too much calcium in the water may give it a sweet taste. The recommended water PH stands at 6.5-8.5. An excess of water minerals affects this PH balance causing some water to have a sweet taste.
Once you diagnose this to be the cause of your water sweetness, you can buy a filtered water cooler to improve your water quality.
On other occasions, the water taste may be a result of piping problems. In this case, your plumbing might be the culprit to your water taste. It doesn’t matter whether the pipes have stayed for long or not. Water passing through pipes tends to change the taste.
You may avoid this by letting the water run for longer to clear the pipes. You may also try chlorination, air aeration, filtration, adjusting your water PH, and air injection. All these methods will help the water regain that natural taste.
Your water may taste sweet due to natural sweeteners
Another cause the water has its sweet taste may be as a result of eating something sweet. These natural sweeteners in your mouth will leave a sweet after-taste in the mouth.
Once we drink water, this after-taste causes the water to get its sweet taste. After the sweetness deteriorates, the water resumes its original taste. This change should not worry you.
Health issues
Just like in my case, water tasting sweet might be an indication of an underlying health problem. It requires a medical diagnosis to know the exact disease.
What diseases will cause the water taste or the taste of the mouth to change?
Diabetes
Diabetes may cause a general mouth sweetness which will result in the water tasting sugary. Because Diabetes affects the body’s ability to use insulin, it becomes hard for sugars to stay in control. This sugar gets concentrated in the blood leading to high levels of blood sugar.
In addition to these high sugar levels, your mouth may taste sugary and cause you to wonder why your water tastes sweet.
A medical diagnosis will rule out a diabetes condition which, upon medication, may get controlled and result in normalization to water taste.
Other symptoms associated with diabetes include:
- Blurred vision
- Not being able to taste food’s sweetness
- Excess urination
- A feeling of unquenchable thirst
- General body fatigue
Carbohydrate deficiency
Generally, carbohydrates in our diet help in providing our bodies with energy. When we consume foods that exclude carbohydrates, the body gets a carbohydrate deficiency. In this case, it uses fats and breaks them down to produce energy which serves as fuel in the body.
The body burns fats in a ketosis process. As a result, the ketones produced from ketosis build up in the bloodstream. This excess storage of ketones in the blood results in a sweet taste in the mouth. With the sweet taste, your water will taste sweet when you drink.
A nutritionist can help you on the correct diet to avoid the production of more ketones and their accumulation in the bloodstream. When your carbohydrate intake gets improved, then the sweet taste in the mouth vanishes. Water gets to resume its original taste.
Diabetic Ketoacidosis
If you suffer from this condition, then your mouth may develop a sweet taste. Diabetic Ketoacidosis results from advanced Diabetes. This time, the body stops using sugar/glucose to produce energy. It may instead shift to burning fat where else your body has sugars in it.
This change leads to the production of acid ketones which get into the bloodstream. When ketones build up in the body, you may have a sweet fruity taste in the mouth. A clinical diagnosis and treatment will help your body break down the excess ketones.
Other symptoms of Diabetes Ketoacidosis include:
- Abdominal cramps
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Vomiting
- Excess nausea
Upon treatment, the sweet taste in the mouth disappears.
Gastroesophageal reflux
This disease tends to cause a sweet taste or metallic taste in many of its patients. The condition, mainly referred to as GERD, makes the stomach acids back up in the esophagus and mouth.
When the acids make their way into the mouth, it results in a sugary taste in the mouth, making your water taste sweet. To treat GERD, diets and lifestyle change accompanied by medication brings an end to the struggles.
Infections
Our brain has the core mandate to regulate our taste and smell. Some bacterial infections may affect this functioning of the brain and lead to a taste and smell change.
In other instances, infections like the flu or sinus contribute to high glucose levels in the saliva. When this happens, your water will taste sugary. However, when the infections clear, your mouth resumes its typical taste, and your water will not taste sweet anymore.
Pregnancy
Pregnancies make our bodies sensitive as a result of hormonal imbalance in the first trimester. The digestive disturbances due to pregnancy may be to blame too.
Although a sweet taste in pregnant women may signify GERD and gestational Diabetes, if you experience this sweet water taste in your pregnancy, it will be good to see a doctor for a cause to be ruled out.
Neurological complications
Nerve damage may also be causing the persistent sweet taste in the water. This condition causes sensory dysfunction, which contributes to changes in the senses, including smell and taste.
For people who have suffered stroke or seizures, this sweet taste might be a shared experience. Depending on the sensory damage, the taste may come and go or be persistent.
After complete recovery, the patient gets their taste senses in control, and the water stops having a sweet taste.
Lung cancer
A prolonged sweet taste in the mouth might be an indication of lung cancer. If the tumors appear in the lungs and respiratory tract, it may be a cause to raise the hormone levels.
Though uncommon, this sweet taste may signify lung cancer, giving a reason not to overlook when you get the sweet water taste.
To diagnose a person with lung cancer, the doctor requests to run CT scans and MRIs that detect a cancerous tumor.
The table below summarizes the causes of your water tasting sweet.
| Water-related causes | Health-related causes |
| Plumbing and pipes | Diabetes |
| Water quality | Carbohydrate deficiency |
| Diabetes ketoacidosis | |
| Gastroesophageal reflux | |
| Infections | |
| Pregnancy | |
| Neurological complications | |
| Lung cancer |
How does a balanced diet help in regulating the sweet mouth taste?
Although all the above causes of the water tasting sweet have solutions, the health-related reasons need to be put on treatment. As the treatment begins, you will need to stay on a healthy diet to facilitate your healing.
Avoiding specific food components results in diseases that contribute to the changes in taste and small.
Adhering to a balanced diet composed of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and fats will help the body function optimally.
The table below includes foods that make up a balanced diet.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does sweet taste in my mouth mean Diabetes?
As we’ve learned in this article, many factors may contribute to a sweet taste in your mouth. Diabetes may cause a sweet taste, and you need to visit a doctor to get a diagnosis.
Is the taste of water sweet throughout?
Water has its typical taste, which isn’t sweet. Although due to mineral contents in some water, it may have a constant sweet taste which improves through water treatment. Prolonged sweetness after treating to enhance its quality might mean an underlying health condition.
Why does my water suddenly taste sweet?
This sudden change in water taste may be attributed to a cold or flu which affects your taste buds. Medication may cause sudden changes or infections. It would be best if you visited the hospital to rule out other health conditions too.
Is a sweet taste in my mouth dangerous?
Some sudden causes of sweet taste in your mouth may be of less concern, like flu. After the cold or flu clears, the typical mouth taste resumes. If it persists and you don’t have flu, it might be dangerous, and you need to see a doctor.
Conclusion
Although some water may be sweet due to plumbing and water quality, it doesn’t occur often. The taste due to these two factors may vary from metallic to sweetness.
If your water isn’t the problem, you should visit the doctor and get a diagnosis for the sudden change in your mouth taste. Most health issues resulting from changes in mouth tastes get resolved, and taste goes back to normal.
