Jess Loren remembers loving the taste of Cap'n Crunch cereal. Coca-Cola. Snickers bars.
But now, instead of a sweetness, "they taste bland," she says. Flavors are noticeably muted since she started a GLP-1 medication in April 2023 to manage her polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) symptoms.
The injections are working: After nearly 11 surgeries to manage her PCOS, she hasn't needed treatment since going on the drug. But the shift in her palate was an unexpected side effect of the drug, which works to prolong feelings of fullness to reduce food intake.
"It happened pretty instantly," Loren, 40, who lives in Los Angeles, says. "It's muted. I can still taste it, but it's not the same. Like the sugar was deleted."
There is no exact known number of GLP-1 patients who say their say their sense of taste has changed since starting the medication. But people like Loren report the drugs, which manage blood sugar and treat obesity, have muted or altered tastes. Some don't notice any change at all.
