Change in taste of Diet Coke

[Nazgul Girl]

    Is it just my changing taste buds, since I've been on a pretty strict diet for 29 days and have (incidentally) lost 11.1 lbs., or did the manufacturer change he formula for Diet Coke ?

    All of a sudden, I detect a really harsh taste of lemon-lime in the Diet Coke 2 liter bottles.   Is something changed, or am I just detecting something that I couldn't taste before ?   Diet Pepsi still tastes exactly the same, and is fine.

    I also suddenly found that I could taste the high fructose syrup or corn syrup in even a 1" square of Hershey's chocolate.   I can't stand it now.   I also can't stand M & M's.   I guess I'd have to call that progress.

[Tennesseer]

Curious if you are young in age or maybe over 60?

I am over sixty.  During the past year, the thought of eating certain foods which I enjoyed eating for decades, I now find revolting. For example I enjoyed steaks-the more marbled, the better.  Now the thought of eating a steak, regardless of whether or not it has marbling, makes me nausious.

Our taste buds change as we age.

[Tiny]

Diet coke is my drink of choice (next to coffee) and I've always thought the taste of Diet coke from 2L bottles was odd...  

Things that might effect the way you experience the 'taste' of diet sodas - was it newly opened or did some of the carbonation have a chance to dissipate?   The carbonation doesn't add a 'flavor' as per se but it adds a bit of a 'dry' after wash?  I don't know how to describe it.   I'm not super picky but after 48 hours an open bottle of diet coke is no longer drinkable - it tastes nasty.

Also the age of the product... the artificial sweetners don't have a long 'shelf life' so they  change the taste of the beverage as they age. I've noticed Diet Coke gets a nasty bitter ish  taste right away  once the sweetner starts to go bad.   I especially notice this in the summer when I'm at other people's homes and they've stored their pop for long periods of time in their non-climate controlled garage... the heat/cold temp changes combined with the product getting near or being past it's 'stamped date' makes for a nasty surprise when drinking it.     When pop is stored at a steady temp (basement or fridge) it seems to stay OK well past the 'stamped date' ...  I tend to buy cases with the furthest out stamped date and usually drink it up well before then.  

I'm still drinking canned diet coke I purchased back before labor day - and it tastes fine.    I have had a few 2L bottles and they seemed to be as expected (not my favorite).

[Formerly SK]

I agree it's probably your taste buds.  The healthier I eat the more I can't eat crap.  Even things like butter - I put a bit on my broccoli last night which I NEVER do and it made me gag. 

Congrats on the weight loss!  WOW!!

[Tiny]

The 'experts' also say our 'tastes' change especially if we start eating differently for a long period of time.   Take salt.   If you currently eat a lot of frozen dinners, canned veggies, canned soups, and then you stop eating them and don't replace them with high salt foods after a month or two - when you have a frozen dinner you use to like - you may not be able to eat it because it's suddenly too salty.

I have trouble with fast food and restaurant food - I don't eat out much anymore but when I do it's like I'm eating straight salt.  

[Nazgul Girl]

     I CAN't just can't eat fast food anymore.   I can eat a small hamburger with cheese on it, or a salad.   Can't abide anything else.    I can't eat soup at restaurants becuase it's so salty that I have edema of the left ankle and foot for two days ( I injured the ankle in college, and am paying for it as I get older ).   I can eat a small, thin steak if the fat is cut off the sides before it's served to me.   I can eat a coney dog, or grilled cheese sandwich, I can eat a salad of course, and I can eat grilled chicken, plus some dryish cole slaw.   That's about it for restaurant food.   I can still eat the Bonzai Burger at Red Robin.   I can eat milkshakes, now that I think about it.   I can eat grilled fish.

    Most dishes at restaurants are out.   Fo what ever set of reasons, dining out isn't much fun anymore.

    It might be the batch of Diet Coke we got at the Dollar General/Kroger.   It just tastes off, and I mean in terms of a good many bottles.  

    I don't like to use cans becuase I know that the pop tastes better, but they are very drippy to store before taking them back for the deposit.

    I am liking grapefruit juice.  I am liking walnuts.   I am liking sharp cheddar cheese, but only the really good kind.   I am liking onions and tomatos chopped up together with pepper on it, for some reason.

    Things really are changing.   Good !      I hate most chocolate, now.   Weird.

    Thanks for the insight, everyone.

   

[constanz22]

Are you sure you didn't pick up Diet Coke with Lime by accident?  I drink pretty much strictly Diet Coke.  Once in awhile Diet Pepsi if I'm low and that's what is on sale.  Have you started any new medications lately?  I was on something briefly years ago for migraine prevention and couldn't keep taking it because it changed my taste buds so.  Anything with fizz had a terrible metallic taste.  I also went through a change in taste after I had surgery two years ago.  I really think it had to be the anesthesia because I don't know what else it could've been but I couldn't drink any cola.  I had to switch to clear soda for a long time.  And they definitely don't make soda like they used to cuz I could almost never notice any off taste when it was past the "use by" date, but any more, even a few days past and it tastes like battery acid

[Opti]

I'm impressed with your weight loss. Not sure I could lose that much even with heavy exercise in 29 days. I know when I've significantly restricted sugar I became much more sensitive to it. Once, I was able to eat and enjoy baking chocolate squares by themselves.

I don't think you tasted corn syrup in the Hershey's unless it isn't the chocolate bars you are talking about. I'm not aware of any chocolate bars that claim they use corn syrup or HFCS. I found that Hershey's has nutrition information on-line if you are willing to make
way more clicks than should be needful. I found the Hershey's milk chocolate bar is much higher in sugar, 24g, than the dark chocolate bars I prefer. I think one of my favorites is literally half that. If you are willing to come to the dark side I think you can even find some bars that are under 10g of sugar per serving although they are much less common than ones in the teens.

Here's the link to the Hershey's milk chocolate bar nutrition info.
www.thehersheycompany.com/brands/hersheys-bars/milk-chocolate.aspx?cat=icon

Total Calories 210
Calories from Fat 110
Amount Per Serving %DV *
Total Fat 13 g 20%
Saturated Fat 8 g 40%
Sodium 35 mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 26 g 9%
Dietary Fiber 1 g 4%
Sugars 24 g

MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE; MILK FAT;SOY LECITHIN;PGPR, EMULSIFIER; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR)

[Nazgul Girl]

    I just looked at the bottle, and it's straight Diet Coke.   I haven't had any change in medication, only day after day of a changed food palate.   It does taste like battery acid to me.   Really a difference, because I used to like it.  

[Nazgul Girl]

Sept 28, 2013 14:58:28 GMT -5 Opti said:

I'm impressed with your weight loss. Not sure I could lose that much even with heavy exercise in 29 days. I know when I've significantly restricted sugar I became much more sensitive to it. Once, I was able to eat and enjoy baking chocolate squares by themselves.

I don't think you tasted corn syrup in the Hershey's unless it isn't the chocolate bars you are talking about. I'm not aware of any chocolate bars that claim they use corn syrup or HFCS. I found that Hershey's has nutrition information on-line if you are willing to make
way more clicks than should be needful. I found the Hershey's milk chocolate bar is much higher in sugar, 24g, than the dark chocolate bars I prefer. I think one of my favorites is literally half that. If you are willing to come to the dark side I think you can even find some bars that are under 10g of sugar per serving although they are much less common than ones in the teens.

Here's the link to the Hershey's milk chocolate bar nutrition info.
www.thehersheycompany.com/brands/hersheys-bars/milk-chocolate.aspx?cat=icon

Total Calories 210
Calories from Fat 110
Amount Per Serving %DV *
Total Fat 13 g 20%
Saturated Fat 8 g 40%
Sodium 35 mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 26 g 9%
Dietary Fiber 1 g 4%
Sugars 24 g

MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE; MILK FAT;SOY LECITHIN;PGPR, EMULSIFIER; VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR)

You're right. I must have read the high fructose/corn syrup on some other product, but I hate the way the milk chocolate tastes now.   I just checked the label and what you wrote is exactly what it states.
Sorry, Hershey's.   But there is something in there that is really turning me off.   I can't eat it anymore.   I just don't like milk chocolate, I guess.

I really do think my taste buds are changing with age.   Or, maybe retraining !

[NastyWoman]

Sept 28, 2013 14:02:43 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

 ...   Things really are changing.   Good !      I hate most chocolate, now.   Weird.

    Thanks for the insight, everyone.

   

Just try some really good chocolate (a little will go a long way) and chances are you'll like it 

[sesfw]

'I hate most chocolate, now. Weird.'

I second the really good chocolate.  If you live in a 'Sees' area, they have good chocolate ....... and get a good dark chocolate.

Hershey's is the absolute bottom of my chocolate list ............ and Cadbury a close second to bottom.  If you don't live in a 'See's' area find a small chocolatier and start sampling.

DH and I have been on low sodium for a year and half .... we can really taste the sodium in foods.

[Nazgul Girl]

    Well, I'm trying to lose weight so finding a chocolate brand that I do like would be counter productive, but I appreciate the ideas.

[saveinla]

Congrats on your weight loss. If you have started cutting out sugar from your food, your taste buds become much more sensitive. Even just a little extra sugar or salt tastes off. I never drink soda, so don't know how it usually tastes. The one time I tried some Sprite for nausea when I had the flu, it was very sharp and acidic.

[alabamagal]

I drink Diet Coke and haven't noticed any changes.   Maybe it was just a bad bottle.  Artificial sweeteners can really have an off taste if they are old, or stored too hot.

I don't drink from 2L bottles.  Prefer cans.

[motherto2]

Are you sure you aren't pregnant?  Just kidding!

When you restrict a lot of the junk from your diet, you will notice a huge change.  I don't eat any salt, so when I get some, like eating out, I really notice it.  I don't eat bread hardly ever (I'm gluten sensitive, so the bread I do eat on occasion isn't the same stuff most people eat) and if I walk through the bread section of the store the smell of bread is overwhelming.  Same thing with the candy aisle - I can smell the sugar, even though things are wrapped. 

I applaud the folks that no longer crave things like sweets after they give it up for several weeks.  I'm like an addict.  As soon as I eat something with sugar in it (not including fruit) I go right back to it.  I've sworn for 20 plus years that they industry puts something addictive in it like the tobacco industries.  From things I've read it looks like I wasn't far from the truth....

[Deleted]

I've lost 45 lb over the last 16 months or so... And eat chocolate almost every day... A small bit of good dark chocolate is actually a healthy thing.

[Deleted]

I can't eat Hershey's chocolate because...well it is bad chocolate.  It tastes like wax to me.   A small piece of good dark chocolate should be part of a healthy diet IMHO.   You don't need much of it at all to be satisfied.

I personally do not drink diet soda because the artificial sweetener just wreaks havoc on my body.  I know everyone is different, but have you considered that maybe your taste buds are now telling you to stop drinking it?  You have cleaned up your diet, it is possible that your body is telling you that you need to break your Diet Coke habit.

Just a thought.

ETA: I very rarely ever drink any soda.  I might have a small coke every 6 months or so.  The taste is just too chemical and sweet to me after I gave it up years ago.

[zibazinski]

Isn't Hershey's now made in Mexico? I don't eat it, either. They've changed their ingredients and Angel is right, it tastes like tasteless wax. If I'm going to eat the calories, I want the taste.

[milee]

Sept 28, 2013 14:02:43 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

     
    Things really are changing.   Good !      I hate most chocolate, now.   Weird.
   

From what you were describing in the OP, you may not hate chocolate, you just hate cheap chocolate.   

Edited to add:  I think many others already drew that conclusion. 

[Nazgul Girl]

   I had a little bite of some better chocolate, and I didn't care for it, either.   It tasted bitter.   However, maybe down the road, I will like chocolate better.   And I'm sure you're all correct about the cheap chocolate.   Maybe I'm just not a chocolate lover anymore.  No loss.  

[Deleted]

Dark chocolate needs to melt in your mouth. The flavors release in layers. 

Giving up chemical sweeteners may help you cleanse your palate  

[sesfw]

About 8 years ago I gave up chocolate for Lent.  I think I was addicted (habit) to it as I ate some every day, didn't matter what kind.  I wondered if it was possible to stop it so the 6+ weeks of Lent was a good place to try.

I did it ...... I was very happy about it.  I've always heard you can break any habit in 4 weeks and the additional 2+ weeks were a bonus.

I eat chocolate now but only the good stuff, and I don't have it every day.  I don't care for milk chocolate at all but like the dark.  If I pass a See's store I go in and buy ONE dark chocolate covered cherry.  Love these.  If I buy more, I'll eat more.

[Opti]

Your taste buds are adjusting. Since you used to eat high sugar milk chocolate perhaps you aren't quite ready for dark chocolate with half or less sugar in it. You might be OK with flavored chocolate, for example Lindt bars with nut brittle or fruit in it. They often end up in the 18g sugar range. When I went to the grocery store I noticed my standbys were 13g and 10g sugar per serving.

I do like soda but prefer regular sugar or Zevia sweetened. What I would buy if I had
lots of money is GUS, grown up soda. Its around 90 cals. for 12oz. and comes in a 4 pack
of glass bottles. Flavored seltzer is a great low cal choice. The only bad thing I've found is the carbonation in the store brands is over-powering compared to soda.



If you aren't into chocolate though you might see this all as a plus. The only candy I like often is dark chocolate bars which have much less sugar than all the corn syrup or sugar based candies.

[Sam_2.0]

I've given up sweetners and cream in my coffee for a couple of weeks now. I had a pumpkin spice latte the other day and it was like drinking pure syrup. Blech. I also can't have anything with artificial sweetners/0 calorie sweetners because it makes me very ill now. Terrible headaches and an upset stomach for days.

I think our tastes change for whatever we allow ourselves to eat. When I am focusing on eating healthy & buy a lot of fresh produce, the more I eat it the more I want it. Same for when I get lazy and buy a lot of pre-made freezer meals. The more I eat them the more tolerable they become. So I've learned that most of controlling my diet starts at the grocery store. If I just don't buy it, then I won't eat it. Problem solved.

[Opti]

Also, I think we all have our own personal preference or range where things taste right to us.
For example, I enjoy 90% dark Lindt chocolate much less than the 85% dark bar. Yet I've had closeout varietal chocolate bars with 8g of sugar that I thought were bordering on too sweet because those particular beans had a natural sweetness to them.


My personal chocolate consumption averages one chocolate bar or less per week.

[Deleted]

If I just don't buy it, then I won't eat it. Problem solved.

[Jake 48]

I would call Coke and complain, they will want some information off the bottle, date codes etc.. but they will make good on the product.

[zibazinski]

Yes, they will. DS works for Coke and they'll standby their product. Shouldn't matter that its a 2liter. I drink diet coke and it tastes just fine but I drink the very small plastic bottles of t. Not a huge soda drinker to begin with.

[Deleted]

Diet soda is really my one vice in life. I can give up most everything, but don't take my diet soda away. Being pregnant was tough. I am a Pepsi girl, but I had to have Coke a few weeks ago when I was traveling. Tasted the same to me. I'm with the others that you must have gotten a bad batch that was stored poorly.

Congrats on the weight loss!!!