"Ever heard of 'pine nut syndrome'? Neither had I, until I got it"

"“During the past few years,” the story reported, “there 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 “pine 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...

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, “but it’s not dangerous.”"
http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-ra-bad-taste-in-my-mouth--20140722-column.html

The world is full of weird things that are good for biologists. (the delay might be how long it takes to turn on a certain genetic cassette and change the state of the cell? Or it could be a weird immune thing? Or is it in the brain?)

(credit to MJ)