00:00You're checking out a new restaurant with your bestie.
00:03He enjoys all the food, but you just can't get over the fact that they put so much garlic
00:07in the main course.
00:09The chef swears that she only added a tiny bit, and no one else even noticed it.
00:14If that sounds familiar to you, congratulations, you're a supertaster!
00:19Probably not as cool as the other superheroes, but still a superpower you share with around
00:2325% of the planet's population.
00:27It's all simple.
00:28The more taste buds you have, the more intensely you feel tastes, especially bitter ones.
00:34You could have twice the amount of taste buds compared to the average number.
00:39Their habitat isn't limited to your tongue.
00:41They're also in the roof and walls of your mouth, throat, and esophagus.
00:46Those sensory cells renew themselves every week.
00:49I guess it happens around bedtime, when every bite of food feels extra good.
00:54If you want to check if you are indeed a supertaster, dab some blue food coloring at
00:59one spot on your tongue.
01:01If you can count more than 25 circles that remain pink in that area on your tongue, it
01:06means you have more papillae than most people.
01:09Blue dye doesn't stick to them.
01:13You probably know there are five main tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami
01:18– which is savory.
01:21But the scientists decided that this was not enough and offered to add a new taste
01:25to the list.
01:26Nothing too poetic – it's fat.
01:29That bad guy that makes you crave all things creamy, buttery, and bacon-like.
01:34Of course, fat doesn't taste so great to everyone when it's on its own, but it can
01:38seriously enhance other flavors.
01:41Studying fat as a separate taste could help scientists understand why it feels so good
01:46in what makes so many people overeat.
01:51For a sense to get the official title of a basic taste, it has to meet certain criteria.
01:56There must be a special receptor for it on the tongue.
01:59And there should also be different distinctive types of it.
02:03Human tongues do have receptors for fatty acids, and some people and animals can tell
02:07the difference between types of fat.
02:10But that knowledge wasn't enough for such a big statement, so they decided to run some
02:15tests.
02:17Volunteers got clips on their noses so they wouldn't be able to smell anything.
02:22Then researchers dropped milk containing different percentages of fat on their tongues.
02:27Skim milk didn't spark any reaction.
02:30The brain slightly responded to whole milk.
02:33Cream, which had the highest amount of fat, activated an instant reaction in the brain,
02:38just like sweet and salty tastes do.
02:41Sounds convincing enough to me, but things aren't so simple in the scientific world,
02:45so fat is still not an official sixth taste.
02:51Your taste buds aren't the only important player in the taste game.
02:54There are many chemicals that help your brain read the signals from your tongue in a certain
02:59way.
03:00Thousands of years of evolution have taught us humans to see sweet taste as good and bitter
03:06as bad, because most dangerous foods have that bitter taste.
03:10That's why our bitter taste receptors are so sensitive to make sure we don't eat the
03:15wrong thing.
03:18But genetics also plays a role in your dietary preferences.
03:21Before you're even born, you get used to a certain menu your mom enjoys.
03:25Plus, you don't share the same set of taste receptor genes with everyone else.
03:32It's especially versatile for bitter taste, and it affects your dietary choices.
03:37Each of the 25 bitter taste genes work to pick up a different group of chemicals.
03:42So things are more complicated than just, I dislike all bitter foods ever.
03:47You can love grapefruit and despise strong black coffee at the same time because of it.
03:54One of those genes is responsible for a certain flavor.
03:58Those who can't feel its taste are more likely to love spicy and fatty foods.
04:03Some people are taste blind and can't taste certain bitter things.
04:07To some of us, all tastes, including the sweet ones, seem sour, bitter, or metallic.
04:14All this affects our food choices.
04:17Studies have shown that if you're more sensitive to bitterness, you're more likely to eat
04:21fewer vegetables.
04:24There are some tastes no one wants to experience at all, like rotting meat.
04:29But it has to be done for scientific purposes to see the stages the product is going through
04:34as it gets worse and worse.
04:37Not to look for volunteers to taste foods like that, but still get an objective opinion.
04:42Scientists came up with an electronic tongue that would mimic human taste buds.
04:47This e-tongue can distinguish between tastes like sweetness, bitterness, saltiness, savory
04:53taste, and richness of food using sensory membranes.
04:57It's really objective because genetics or personal preferences don't affect the analysis
05:02it does.
05:05Have you ever brushed your teeth, then had orange juice, and didn't recognize its taste
05:09at all?
05:10That's just one example of how you can tweak your taste buds.
05:15The food you've just eaten can affect the flavor of the next course, sometimes for the
05:20better, sometimes for the worse.
05:22That's because your taste buds are sensitive to changes in their environment, and you change
05:28it with the components you put in your mouth.
05:31And one molecule can hit the right taste bud, and it will send a message to the brain
05:36to activate one of the taste sensations.
05:39It sounds simple, but scientists still aren't sure how exactly our tongues tell salty from
05:44sour and sweet from umami.
05:47There must be a lot of interaction going on between your brain and the taste buds to make
05:52that possible.
05:55Let's say you had an artichoke and then took a glass of plain water.
05:59You'll notice the liquid will taste somewhat sweet.
06:02That's because an artichoke contains a substance that catches onto your sweet receptors but
06:08doesn't activate them.
06:10When you wash it down with water, the molecules wake up and send a message to your brain,
06:15and you distinctively feel like you've eaten something sweet.
06:20The reason brushing your teeth makes orange juice taste weird is a detergent in your toothpaste
06:25that foams in the process.
06:27The big brains believe that this component plays with the membranes of your taste cells
06:32and adds a bitter taste to your favorite drink.
06:37Miracle fruit is the real champ when it comes to adding a weird taste to your snacks.
06:41The special substance in it sticks to your tongue and makes sour things taste sweet to
06:46you.
06:47Your tongue still recognizes the sour taste of food, but that component in miracle fruit
06:52is so strong it just drowns that signal.
06:58Probably the most debated taste on the internet is cilantro.
07:01To most people, it tastes like a mix of parsley and citrus.
07:06Chefs around the world happily add it to their meals, but to some folks it clearly tastes
07:10like soap, dirt, crushed bugs, or metal shavings.
07:16Not something you'd add to your pasta, right?
07:19Turns out it has to do with genetics.
07:22People who can't stand the taste of cilantro have a variation in one group of genes that
07:27makes them so sensitive to soapy-flavored components in cilantro leaves.
07:32The interesting part is that fewer people have this genetic modification in countries
07:37where cilantro is mostly popular, such as Central America and India.
07:42The highest number of cilantro skeptics live in East Asia, so it looks like it might have
07:48to do with geography and culture as well.
07:52How about some dessert?
07:53Don't worry.
07:54Even if you feel full from all the tastes you've already discovered, there's always
07:58room for a sweet afterparty.
08:01Scientists have officially proved it.
08:03When you're eating something, say soup or salad, you first get excited about its flavor.
08:09But at some point, you feel like you've had enough of that particular taste.
08:13When dessert comes into play, your brain literally gets excited.
08:17Did someone say a new flavor?
08:20That amazing taste of ice cream, cake, chocolate, or whatever you prefer makes the brain override
08:26satiety signals for pleasure.
08:29It craves excitement, and it will get it.
08:33That's it for today!
08:36So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:41friends!
08:42Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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