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How we Taste. Courtesy of Your Tongue!. Anatomy of the Tongue. Ever Seen a Cat’s Tongue Close Up?. How do We Taste? Intro to 4 Taste Regions. Bitter. Sour. Salty. Sweet. To Understand Taste, look at a Taste Bud. The Buds send signals along Nerves to the brain.
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How we Taste Courtesy of Your Tongue!
How do We Taste?Intro to 4 Taste Regions Bitter Sour Salty Sweet
Taste Buds come in 4 Varieties Each taste bud is receptive to a specific “chemical family” Bitter Sour Salty Sweet
Spicy Food Explanation What creates the heat/pain we feel when we eat spicy food? • Chemicals in: ginger pepper onions • Stimulate heat - pain receptors directly, simulating the experience of heat
What about Cool Mint? • Mint is a flavor picked up by sweet, sour, bitter and salty taste buds • Mint temporarily inhibits (stops) the buds from sending a signal, including some heat nerves in the tongue • An absence of heat SEEMS to be COOLNESS.
Colds and Taste • Much of taste comes from vapors that reach the nose • Smell is often confused with taste although they usually work as partners to produce TASTE! • With a cold, sensory nerves do not work properly, so you can’t smell or taste properly.
Law of Diminishing Returns • The more bites you take • The more the nerves fire • Nerves get tired • Signal weakens • So ….Taste enjoyment falls • Solution: • Eat a variety of things!