http://www.latimes.com/local/abcaria...22-column.html

Ever heard of 'pine nut syndrome'? Neither had I, until I got it
Robin Abcarian
Los Angeles

I apologize, Father's Office. Your food and wine was fine. My taste buds
were not

To the bartender at Fathers Office in Culver City, who graciously
replaced my California chardonnay with an Italian white on Monday night
because the chardonnay tasted rancid: I apologize.

Weirdly, the replacement white was funky, too. I was too embarrassed to
complain again. But when my Fathers Office burger arrived, topped with
the restaurants signature onion-bacon compote, arugula and melted mix
of gruyere and Maytag blue, I was befuddled.

This was just not possible.

A Fathers Office burger is the standard by which all other gourmet
hamburgers are judged. This burger is so good that The Times Test
Kitchen once spent days developing a replica recipe, because chef Sang
Yoon refused to divulge it. And yet, I could barely choke down half.
Pine nut warning label
A warning label on a package of pine nuts sold by Trader Joe's. Some
people experience "pine nut syndrome" or "pine mouth" for two to four
weeks after consuming pine nuts. (Robin Abcarian)

As it turned out, Fathers Office, it wasnt you. It was me.

Tuesday morning, after drinking a cup of coffee that tasted even worse
than the €œbad€� chardonnay from the night before, I became alarmed. So I
did what anyone with a medical problem and a modem would do. I hopped on
Google and typed, €œI have a bad taste in my mouth.€�

Wow.

You cant believe how many people have bad tastes in their mouths, and
how many possible causes exist for the malady, which is called
€œdysgeusia.€� I clicked on a Telegraph story that looked promising. A big
photo of pine nuts popped up on my screen. Huh?

€œDuring the past few years,€� the story reported, €œthere have been
reports of people suffering from a constant bitter or metallic taste as
a result of eating pine nuts.€� The condition, it said, is €œpine nut
syndrome.€�

The adverse reaction can develop suddenly and inexplicably within 12 to
48 hours after consuming the nuts, which are the edible seeds of the
pine tree. It can happen out of the blue, even to people who have eaten
pine nuts previously with no adverse reaction. It does not seem to
matter whether the pine nuts are raw or roasted. It does not seem to
matter whether three nuts are consumed, or a handful. It does not seem
to matter where the nuts come from. The syndrome does not involve mold
or bacteria. It is not an allergy.

It is a mystery.
It is exacerbated by consumption of any other food during this period
and significantly decreases appetite and enjoyment of food. - Food and
Drug Administration on a phenomenon called "pine mouth" caused by eating
pine nuts

Jill Bernheimer, 43, who owns the Domaine LA wine shop on Melrose Avenue
near Hancock Park was stricken out of the blue about five years ago
after making one of her frequent batches of pesto. She had a bitter,
metallic taste in her mouth, deeply alarming to someone who lives by her
palate. Like me, she hopped online and soon diagnosed her problem.

€œThere was momentary panic when you dont know whats going on or why,€�
she told me today, €œbut as soon as I realized that with a bit of time
everything would be fine, I didnt have any issues.€� Within a month, she
said, her palate was completely back to normal. These days, she avoids
pine nuts like the plague, and makes her pesto with walnuts.

I have loved pine nuts since I was in graduate school, when I discovered
the Sicilian-style cookies called pignoli at a Greenwich Village bakery
called Rocco's. Lately, Ive been making a butter lettuce salad with
pink grapefruit, avocado, Roquefort crumbles€¦and pine nuts. I served it
Sunday night, and 24 hours later, was reeling from the bad taste in my
mouth.

The Food and Drug Administration is aware of the problem. On March 14,
2011, the agency posted a page on €œ'Pine Mouth and the Consumption of
Pine Nuts.€�

Pine mouth, the FDA reported, €œlasts on average between a few days and
two weeks.€�

I guess thats the good news. The bad news: €œIt is exacerbated by
consumption of any other food during this period and significantly
decreases appetite and enjoyment of food. [Horrified italics are all
mine.] The symptoms decrease over time with no apparent adverse clinical
side effects.€�

The agency urges sufferers €“ and I use the term loosely as I would
hardly call this true suffering €“ to report incidents of pine mouth. I
called an FDA consumer complaint specialist, who took my information for
his database. He wanted to know where I had purchased them. (Trader
Joe's, of course.)

He was very kind and told me not to be distressed, as my symptoms were
probably peaking today, and would soon begin to subside. Hed
experienced the syndrome after eating hummus a couple of years ago, and
was back to normal within two weeks. "Refrain from ingesting sugar," he
warned. "Sugar enhances the bitterness."

The FDA, he told me, had first taken note of the problem three years
ago, when the agency began receiving daily complaints about pine mouth.
Reports are now at a relative trickle but not rare. Nobody knows why it
happens, he said, €œbut its not dangerous.€�

Wired senior writer Greg Miller investigated after experiencing pine nut
syndrome a couple years ago. He found nothing conclusive, but he noted
that scientists have pointed a finger at China, and the Chinese species
of white pine called Pinus armandii.

€œA poor pine nut harvest in 2010 resulted in Chinese imports accounting
for up to 80 percent of pine nuts sold in the U.S. that year, coinciding
with an uptick in reports of pine mouth,€� he wrote.

I called a Trader Joes spokeswoman, who was sympathetic, but €“
characteristically for the chain -- not forthcoming. €œUnfortunately, I
dont have a comment for your story,€� Alison Mochizuki told me.

TJs pine nuts, according to the packaging, come from Korea, Russia and
Vietnam. The packaging also comes with something I had never noticed
before -- a warning.

€œSome individuals may experience a reaction to eating pine nuts,
characterized by a lingering bitter or metallic taste,€� it says.

Maybe there's a silver lining here. But it's a hell of a way to start a
diet.

On Wednesday, July 23, 2014 4:02:18 PM UTC-7, Travis McGee wrote:
> http://www.latimes.com/local/abcaria...22-column.html


This is news to me. I love pine nuts, never had a problem. Thank goodness.

On Wed, 23 Jul 2014 19:02:18 -0400, Travis McGee >
wrote:

> Wired senior writer Greg Miller investigated after experiencing pine nut
> syndrome a couple years ago. He found nothing conclusive, but he noted
> that scientists have pointed a finger at China, and the Chinese species
> of white pine called Pinus armandii.
>
> “A poor pine nut harvest in 2010 resulted in Chinese imports accounting
> for up to 80 percent of pine nuts sold in the U.S. that year, coinciding
> with an uptick in reports of pine mouth,” he wrote.
>
> I called a Trader Joe’s spokeswoman, who was sympathetic, but –
> characteristically for the chain -- not forthcoming. “Unfortunately, I
> don’t have a comment for your story,” Alison Mochizuki told me.
>
> TJ’s pine nuts, according to the packaging, come from Korea, Russia and
> Vietnam. The packaging also comes with something I had never noticed
> before -- a warning.
>
> “Some individuals may experience a reaction to eating pine nuts,
> characterized by a lingering bitter or metallic taste,” it says.
>
> Maybe there's a silver lining here. But it's a hell of a way to start a
> diet.

I've heard about it in conjunction with Chinese pine nuts for too many
years, therefore I don't buy any from that part of the world. I will
either bite the bullet and buy USA, eliminate them or substitute
something else.

That said, a metallic taste in the mouth can be due to other things.
Hormonal changes makes sense to me, because I got it a lot when I was
a preteen and teenager... with no culinary pine nuts in sight.

--
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

"Travis McGee" > wrote in message
...
> http://www.latimes.com/local/abcaria...22-column.html
>
> Ever heard of 'pine nut syndrome'? Neither had I, until I got it
> Robin Abcarian
> Los Angeles
>
> I apologize, Father's Office. Your food and wine was fine. My taste buds
> were not

<snipped but read>

Interesting! At times I do eat a lot of pine nuts. I love them but they
can be expensive.