Why does your saliva start to taste like blood if you ride your bike up a hill or run fast for a while?
Edit: Thanks for the Awards and the nice Comments.
Also blew up bigger than I thought!
In: Biology
The taste that can be present in your mouth might be similar to the one of blood, or just metallic. Happens usually when performing hard exercises with not a lot of previous training or preparation, exercising at high altitudes or in cold and dry air.The taste is a byproduct of the fact that the heart is working way harder than usual causing pulmonary edema (buildup of fluids in the lungs), and with this there’s an increase in pressure which causes a leakage of erythrocytes (Red blood cells) into your lungs. Haemoglobin (the molecule present in RBCs that allows transport of oxygen) are bound to iron ions and when RBCs have entered the lungs, haemoglobin can escape into the bronchi, then the trachea, larynx and finally reaches the mouth, where the taste receptors on the tongue sense iron and send a signal to your brain causing this metallic/bloody taste in your mouth.
Edit: Might be a little too specific and complicated for ELI5 but I’ll still leave it here
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