Why does a cold drink taste so refreshing and seem to just hit the spot after consuming something sweet/salty?
In: Biology
Cold drinks numb your taste buds, plus it’s also a cultural thing, as in years of exposure to the idea that cold drinks are refreshing probably shaped our perception of it, after all everything you perceive in your life is nothing but subjective and cultural with no objective and universal truth. In China for example they dislike cold drinks like iced tea and prefer the warmer variants. But yes I deviated from the question, I’m sure it has to do with it numbing your taste buds hence resetting your palette in a way, especially with salty things. This is all taken out of my ass with a hint of personal experience so I suggest a heavy amount of skepticism.
This may just describe what happens, doesn’t explain why, but it pretty much covers everything in a general way!
In economics there is a theory of diminishing returns. Every single “unit” of some “good” that you use/eat/drink starts off by satisfying a need you have, but every extra unit is less satisfying. Eventually it can even go negative if you keep using it past the point of any need for it.
So, if you are really thirsty a glass of water tastes fantastic. But, the second glass is a little less great, the third is goodish, the fourth is meh, then you can’t bear any more. Your need has been satisfied, then exceeded, so your body switches down the satisfaction signals it gives you.
So the theory would suggest that if you have something really sweet or salty then your body may crave fresh water afterwards, so the glass you drink tastes great. Conversely, if you just drank a lot of water, something sweet or salty would go down really well.
Salty things make you thirstier. Thats why they have nuts at bars and pubs, to make you drink more.
Soft drinks also have alot of salt and can make you thirstier too
Isn’t this a subjective question, more than a science question?
That may be your experience, but it’s not an inevitable or consistent scientific fact.
You could do a poll, and see how many people Agee with you. But the “scientific” replies above don’t actually answer your question.
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