you're checking out a new restaurant with your bestie he enjoys all the food but you just can't get over the fact that they put so much garlic in the main course the chef swears that she only added a tiny bit and no one else even noticed it if that sounds familiar to you congratulations you're a super taster probably not as cool as the other superheroes but still a superpower you share with around 25% of the planet's population it's all simple the more taste buds you have the more intensely you feel tastes especially bitter ones you
could have twice the amount of taste buds compared to the average number their habitat isn't limited to your tongue they're also in the roof and walls of your mouth throat and esophagus those sensory cells renew themselves every week I guess it happens around bedtime when every bite of food feels extra good if you want to check if you are indeed a super taster dab some blue food coloring at one spot on your tongue If You Can Count more than 25 circles that remain pink in that area on your tongue it means you have more P
than most people blue dye doesn't stick to them you probably know there are five main tastes sweet sour salty bitter and Umami which is Savory but the scientists decided that this was not enough and offered to add a new taste to the list nothing too poetic it's fat that bad guy that makes you crave all things creamy buttery and bacon like of course fat doesn't taste so great to everyone when it's on its own but it can seriously enhance other flavors studying fat as a separate taste could help scientists understand why it feels so good
in what makes so many people overeat for a sense to get the official title of a basic taste it has to meet certain criteria there must be a special receptor for it on the tongue and there should also be different distinctive types of it human tongues do have receptors for fatty acids and some people and animals can tell the difference between types of fat but that knowledge wasn't enough for such a big statement so they decided to run some tests volunteers got Clips on their noses so they wouldn't be able to smell anything then researchers
dropped milk containing different percentages of fat on their tongues skin milk didn't spark any reaction action the brain slightly responded to whole milk cream which had the highest amount of fat activated an instant reaction in the brain just like sweet and salty tastes do sounds convincing enough to me but things aren't so simple in the scientific world so fat is still not an official sixth taste your taste buds aren't the only important player in the taste game there are many chemicals that help your brain read the signals from your tongue in a certain way thousands
of years of evolution have taught us humans to see sweet taste as good and bitter as bad because most dangerous foods have that bitter taste that's why our bitter taste receptors are so sensitive to make sure we don't eat the wrong thing but genetics also plays a role in your dietary preferences before you're even born you get used to a certain menu your mom enjoys plus you don't share the same set of taste receptor genes with everyone else [Music] it's especially versatile for bitter taste and it affects your dietary choices each of the 25 bitter
taste jeans work to pick up a different group of chemicals so things are more complicated than just I dislike all bitter Foods ever you can love grapefruit and despise strong black coffee at the same time because of it one of those jeans is responsible for a certain flavor those who can't feel its taste are more likely to love spicy and fatty foods some people are taste blind and can't taste certain bitter things and to some of us all tastes including the sweet ones seem sour bitter or metallic all this affects our food choices Studies have
shown that if you're more sensitive to bitterness you're more likely to eat fewer vegetables there are some tastes no one wants to experience at all like rotting meat but it has to to be done for scientific purposes to see the stages the product is going through as it gets worse and worse not to look for volunteers to taste foods like that but still get an objective opinion scientists came up with an electronic tongue that would mimic human taste buds this e tongue can distinguish between tastes like sweetness bitterness saltiness Savory taste and richness of food
using sensory membranes it's really objective because genetics or personal preferences don't affect the analysis it does have you ever brushed your teeth then had orange juice and didn't recognize its taste at all that's just one example of how you can tweak your taste buds the food you've just eaten can affect the flavor of the next course sometimes for the better sometimes for the worst that's because your taste buds are sensitive to changes in their environment and you change it with the components you put in your mouth even one molecule can hit the right taste button
and it will send a message to the brain to activate one of the taste sensations it sounds simple but scientists still aren't sure how exactly our tongues tell salty from sour and sweet from Umami there must be a lot of interaction going on between your brain and the taste buds to make that possible let's say you had an artichoke and then took a glass of plain water you'll notice the liquid liid will taste somewhat sweet that's because an artichoke contains a substance that catches onto your sweet receptors but doesn't activate them when you wash it
down with water the molecules wake up and send a message to your brain and you distinctively feel like you've eaten something sweet the reason brushing your teeth makes orange juice taste weird is a detergent in your toothpaste that Foams in the process the big brains believe that this component plays with the membranes of your taste cells and adds a bitter taste to your favorite drink miracle fruit is the real champ when it comes to adding a weird taste to your snacks the special substance in it sticks to your tongue and makes Sour things taste sweet
to you your tongue still recognizes the sour taste of food but that component in miracle fruit is so strong it just drowns that signal probably the most deated taste on the internet is cilantro to most people it tastes like a mix of parsley and citrus chefs around the world happily add it to their meals but to some folks it clearly tastes like soap dirt crushed bugs or metal shavings not something you'd add to your pastor right turns out it has to do with genetics people who can't stand the taste of cilantro have a variation in
one group of jeans that makes them so sensitive to soapy flavored components in cilantro leaves the interesting part is that fewer people have this genetic modification in countries where cilantro is mostly popular such as Central America and India the highest number of cilantro Skeptics live in East Asia so it looks like it might have to do with geography and culture as well how about some dessert don't worry even if you feel full from all the tastes you've already discovered there's always room for a sweet Afterparty scientists have officially proved it when you're eating something say
soup or Salad you first get excited about its flavor but at some point you feel like you've had enough of that particular taste when dessert comes into play your brain literally gets excited did someone say a new flavor that amazing Taste of ice cream cake chocolate or whatever you prefer makes the brain override satiety signals for pleasure it craves excitement and it will get [Music] it that's it for today so hey if you PFI your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on
these videos and stay on the bright side
