why does mint make everything feel/taste cold?
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The active ingredient in mint is menthol, a chemical that triggers the TRPM8 receptor on your tongue that detects cold.
So while Mint isn’t cold itself it fools your senses into thinking that it’s cold.
What you’re feeling is Menthol, the chemical that binds to your *temperature* receptors instead of *taste* receptors to trick them into giving you the sensation of coolness.
Its the exact opposite reaction but the same function as [capsaicin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsaicin), the chemical in chilli and hot foods that gives you the hot feeling.
No, capsaicin is *not* the active ingredient in Deep Heat.
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