Inside the DIY Ozempic boom
Americans are cooking their own Ozempic. This is why we should be concerned.
Jess Lauren remembers loving the taste of Captain Crunch cereal. coca cola. Snickers bar.
But now, instead of being sweet, it’s “bland,” she says. Since she started taking the GLP-1 drug in April 2023 to manage symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the flavor has been noticeably subdued.
The injections worked, and I haven’t needed any treatment since I started taking the medication after undergoing nearly 11 surgeries to manage my PCOS. But her change in taste was an unexpected side effect of the drug, which prolongs satiety and reduces food intake.
“It happened instantly,” said Lauren, 40, who lives in Los Angeles. “The sound is gone. I can still taste it, but it’s not the same. It’s like the sugar has disappeared.”
The exact number of GLP-1 patients who say their taste has changed after starting the medication is not known. But people like Lauren report that the drugs used to manage blood sugar levels and treat obesity start to taste dull or change in taste. Some people don’t notice any changes at all.
Doctors know this occurs in GLP-1 patients, but the cause and magnitude of the changes are still being investigated. A March 2025 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that 85% of people taking GLP-1 scored worse on a “waterless experiential taste test,” in which a piece of flavored plastic is placed on the tongue, compared to people not taking the drug. Those taking the drug had a decrease in all five taste domains: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami.
“We were very surprised,” said Richard Doty, one of the study authors and director of the Center for Smell and Taste at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. “This is a significant reduction in the ability to taste basic taste properties.”
“Alterations in taste, known medically as dysgeusia, are a well-known class effect of all commercially available GLP-1s and are listed in the prescribing information for each of these medications,” a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, maker of the popular GLP-1 Ozempic, Wigovy, and Victoza, told USA TODAY in an email. “This can manifest in a variety of ways, including unpleasant, abnormal, or altered taste sensations, often described as metallic.”
A spokesperson for Eli Lilly, the maker of Trulicity, Munjaro and Zepbound, told USA TODAY in an email: “Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority and we take all reports of patient safety seriously…We encourage patients to consult their physicians or other health care professionals about any side effects they may be experiencing.”
As GLP-1 becomes an increasingly mainstream option for weight loss, Doty and other experts say more research is needed into why and how these taste changes vary among individuals, especially since its use among Americans has more than doubled in the past year. But Lauren and other drug users told USA TODAY that even though their taste buds have changed, they feel like their relationship with food is better than ever.
How does GLP-1 work and why does it affect taste?
Professor Stephen Munger of the University of Virginia said experts still don’t know why GLP-1 users report changes in taste.
However, there are some important clues. GLP-1 receptors are found throughout our bodies, including our taste buds. According to the Cleveland Clinic, when you take GLP-1 drugs, the amount of this natural hormone increases, causing insulin to enter your bloodstream and blocking glucose in your body. This affects areas of the brain that process hunger and satiety.
“Nerves in the mouth have GLP-1 receptors that send taste information back to the brain,” Munger says. But he says it’s still too early to say what exactly the drug’s function is causing the change in our taste.
For some people, the food is bland, for others it’s extremely spicy.
According to Munger, the degree of taste change varies from person to person. For some people, the volume of a particular flavor increases, for others it decreases, and for others it remains the same.
Morgan Williams, 29, loved flavorful meat. Since starting GLP-1 in April, the Lincoln, Nebraska, mother says she can hardly eat chicken if it has any seasonings on it. She now prefers regular sweet potatoes or salmon.
“Everything is salty to me, even if I don’t salt it,” she says. The change was tough, she says. She has to prepare another dinner for her son, who doesn’t like the bland recipes.
New flavors may also appear. Nicole Burton of Liberty, Kentucky, has lost about 120 pounds since taking GLP-1 in May 2024. The 32-year-old hated spicy food. Now her friends make fun of how much hot sauce she puts on her meals.
“It’s a big change,” Burton says of the change in taste. “It’s like my sense of taste has turned upside down.”
This change may be caused by a dulling of taste, Munger said.
“Increasing the sensory input of spiciness and taste can help partially offset the sensory loss,” Munger says. “But others may find (some) senses overwhelming and unbalanced, and may actually prefer more bland food. There’s a lot of personality at play here.”
Rediscovering the contents of the refrigerator
A September 2025 study by International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. found that 85% of GLP-1 users had significant changes in their food preferences, including strong aversions to fatty foods, fried foods, sweets, coffee, and alcohol.
“Lack of desire for food is a huge component of what people experience. They don’t have the reinforcement value anymore,” Doty says. “The whole experience of taste is being downregulated…It makes things less interesting. When enjoyment is reduced, it’s going to affect your food choices.”
This downregulation has been a good thing for people like Burton, who finally learned to love eating again after decades of struggling to eat right and maintain a healthy weight.
“(The taste) is more satisfying now,” she says. “I’m craving something that actually energizes my body.”
Doty says more research is needed into the role of genetics and what happens when people stop taking drugs.
“This is a whole new field of medical research,” he says. “We are just the tip of the iceberg.”
