# Do diabetics taste sweet?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-diabetics-taste-sweet/51505>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 24, 2001, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-diabetics-taste-sweet/51505 "2001-01-24T02:37:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Nessy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f04885/32.png) [@Nessy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nessy)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-diabetics-taste-sweet/51505/1 "2001-01-24T02:37:00Z")

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My grandmother insists this is true.

I know you can find people salty, if you kiss them in the time between a hard workout and their next shower.

And people who eat a lot of garlic can have a taste to them.

But diabetics? (I don’t know any offhand or I’d just try it.)

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-diabetics-taste-sweet/51505/2 "2001-01-24T02:38:59Z")

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Yum! thought Godzilla, as he approached the Home for Diabetics.

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**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-diabetics-taste-sweet/51505/3 "2001-01-24T02:57:30Z")

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Well, their urine does. That’s how Hippocrates identified the disease. He dipped his finger in their pee and said, “Oh. Tastes like honey (mellitus)”. But some folks, who also peed a lot, had urine that was, well, bland. Insipid. Hence we also have a diabetes _insipidus_.

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**Author:** ![ScoobyTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@ScoobyTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScoobyTX)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-diabetics-taste-sweet/51505/4 "2001-01-24T03:16:03Z")

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Gee, doctors sure have it a lot easier these days.

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**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2001, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-diabetics-taste-sweet/51505/5 "2001-01-24T03:22:46Z")

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Actually, they do smell sweet.

MrRobyn is a type II diabetic (non-insulin dependent) and I can usually tell if his glucose is high if his sweat smells kinda fruity. I haven’t noticed a discernably sweet taste, however.

Robin