eli5: why do mint things (gum, toothpaste, cough drops, etc) feel like hell fire when you drink water?
In: Other
Similar to how capsaicin (pepper chemical) triggers the same nerves that detect heat, menthol (mint chemical) triggers the same nerves that detect ‘cold’. When this ‘fake’ trigger is combined with the real trigger (heat/cold), it is that much stronger.
Most mint flavoured things use menthol oil. Drinking water washes away the other stuff but doesn’t wash away the oil so your tongue receptors end up getting just the mint sensation.
Your brain knows something is happening but doesn’t know it’s just a candy, so it tells itself it’s on fire
Gum’s gotten mintier lately, have you noticed?
You have a number of temperature “setpoints”–70F is a nice day. 100F is obnoxiously hot. 40F is too cold without a sweater.
You similarly have a setpoint in your mouth–water below a certain temperature is cold. Water above a certain temperature is hot.
The active chemicals in mint, menthol, temporarily shift those setpoints down by a number of degrees. Instead of 40F being cold, it becomes chilly, and instead of 70F being nice, it becomes a bit toasty. The temperature is the same, but your perception of it changes.
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