Trump announces lower prices coming for GLP-1 drugs Zepbound, Wegovy
President Donald Trump announces discounted pricing for Zepbound and Wegovy and expanding Medicare coverage so more people can access the drugs.
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)Â 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.
Doctors know this happens to GLP-1 patients, but the cause and scale of the changes is still being investigated. A March 2025 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found 85% people on GLP-1s scored worse on a Waterless Empirical Taste Test, which involved touching flavored plastic strips to their tongues, compared to people not on the drugs. All five taste areas: salty, sweet, bitter, sour and umami were diminished for people on the drugs.
“We were quite surprised,” says Richard Doty, one of the study’s authors and director of the Smell and Taste Center at University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. “It’s a significant decrement in the ability to taste the basic taste qualities.”
“Altered taste sensation, known medically as dysgeusia, is a well-known class effect for all marketed GLP-1s and has been listed in the respective prescribing information for these medicines,” a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, maker of popular GLP-1s Ozempic, Wegovy and Victoza, told USA TODAY via email. “This can manifest in various ways, with an unpleasant, abnormal or altered taste sensation, and is often described as metallic.”
A spokesperson for Eli Lilly, maker of Trulicity, Mounjaro and Zepbound, told USA TODAY in an email: “Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and we take any reports regarding patient safety seriously … We encourage patients to consult their doctor or other healthcare professional regarding any possible side effects they may be experiencing. “
More research is needed into why and how these taste change vary across individuals as GLP-1s become an increasingly mainstream option for weight loss, Doty and other experts say — especially as use among Americans has more than doubled in the past year. But Loren and other people on the drugs told USA TODAY while their taste has changed, their relationship with food feels better than ever.
How do GLP-1s work and why might it impact taste?
Experts still don’t know why GLP-1 users report taste changes, according to Steven Munger, professor at the University of Virginia.
There are some important clues, though. GLP-1 receptors are all over our bodies, including our taste buds. When we take GLP-1 drugs, we’re increasing amounts of this natural hormone, triggering insulin to enter our bloodstream and blocking glucose from our system, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This impacts the areas of our brain that process hunger and fullness.
“In your mouth, there are receptors for GLP-1 on the nerves that carry taste information back to the brain,” Munger says. But we can’t say yet which of the drug’s functions exactly drives our taste changes, he says.
Bland food for some, extra spicy for others
The extent of taste change is different for everyone, Munger says. The volume on a specific taste could go up for some and down for others, or be unchanged, too.
Morgan Williams, 29, used to love flavorful meats. Since going on a GLP-1 in April, the Lincoln, Nebraska, mom says she can barely eat chicken if it has seasoning. She now prefers plain sweet potato or salmon.
“Everything is salty to me, even if I didn’t put salt on it,” she says. The change has been tough, she says. She has to prepare a separate dinner for her son who dislikes her now-bland recipes: “Sometimes it’s like ‘Gosh, I really want this.'”
New tastes can crop up, too. Nicole Burton, in Liberty, Kentucky, has lost about 120 pounds since she went on a GLP-1 in May 2024. The 32-year-old used to hate spicy food. Now her friends make fun of how much hot sauce she pours on her meals.
“It’s a huge shift,” Burton says of the change in her palate. “It’s like my taste buds flipped.”
This change could be driven due to dimmed taste, Munger says.
“Increasing the sensory input of spiciness or taste helps to partially offset the loss of the sensations,” Munger says. “However, others can find (some) sensations to be overwhelming and out of balance, and they will actually prefer foods that are more bland. There is a lot of individuality at work here.”
Rediscovering what’s in your fridge
A September 2025 survey by International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., found 85% GLP-1 users have had major changes in food preferences, including developing strong aversions to fatty foods, fried items, sweets, coffee and alcohol.
“The lack of desire for foods is a big element of what people experience. They don’t have the reinforcement value anymore,” Doty says. “It’s down-regulated, the whole taste experience … It makes things less interesting. When the enjoyment is decreased, it’s going to affect your food choices.”
This down-regulation has been a good thing for people like Burton who finally love eating again after decades struggling to eat right and keep a healthy weight.
“(Taste) now is more satiating,” she says. “I’m craving things that actually fuel my body.”
More research needs to be done on the role of genetics, Doty says, and what happens when people go off the drugs.
“This is a whole new area of medical research,” he says. “We’re just at the tip of the iceberg.”