A Rampant Case of Pine Mouth

This morning, I ate cereal for breakfast. Afterward, I got a bitter taste in my mouth that tasted almost like hairspray. I attributed it to sinus issues.

After my boot camp class, I got a smoothie. After drinking it, I got a bitter taste in my mouth that I attributed to the chalky protein powder.

I drank Gatorade...bitter taste - attributed to acid reflux from working out.

Brown rice chips ... bitter taste - also attributed to acid reflux from working out.

Pumpkin cookie... bitter taste - hmmm....

Yes, I kept eating crap to get rid of the bitter taste, only to be left with a bitter taste. After the pumpkin cookie, I realized it was simply me. I decided to visit Dr. Google. His office is always open and requires no co-pay.

The first thing that popped up? Pine nuts. Apparently certain species of pine nuts can leave a bitter taste in your mouth one to three days after eating them. The bitter taste lasts anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. This is known as "pine mouth"

Three days ago, I made a South Beach recipe - spinach with pine nuts and garlic. Yep, apparently I'm a victim. It doesn't affect everyone, which explains why Simon is perfectly fine. He also never suffers the dreaded asparagus pee.

I'm relieved to identify the cause. The other "bitter taste" causes are jaundice, diabetes or pregnancy. For now, I'm just going to assume pine nuts.