This fluid, which makes a great contribution to the maintenance of our body’s functions, becomes even more indispensable after activities that require physical exertion. However, there is a fact accepted by the society that the coldness of this water always makes us feel better, fresh and alive.
So how does the taste of water, which is with us in every moment of our lives, undergo a change in taste according to the temperature it belongs to? In other words, what makes cold water indispensable for us?
First, let’s take a look at how we perceive tastes. Taste, which is one of the five sense organs of our body; Is it a chemical reaction or a trick our mind is playing on us?
Our sense of taste occurs when taste cells in the front, back or sides of our tongue and molecules from the food or drink we consume attach to these cells and send signals. For this reason, taste can be expressed as a mixture of various chemical reactions that occur in the tongue.
Our language; He can perceive many tastes such as sour, sweet, bitter or salty, but how can he distinguish these different flavors?
The salty taste is detected by the taste cells the moment we take a food into our mouth, and these cells act as channels for certain proteins in the cell membranes, allowing this salt to enter the cells. Next, the chemicals (neurotransmitters) that are responsible for transmitting the information that are responsible for transmitting the sense to the axons send the taste information to the brain.
Sourness is sensed as directly affecting ion channels, and proteins of various acids initiate a cellular response with sodium or potassium channels.
While the bitter taste is perceived by blocking the potassium channels in the cell membranes, the chemicals that we perceive as sweet bind to certain regions on the membrane receptors in the form of “lock and key”. As a result, the bound chemicals are transmitted to the brain, as with all flavors.
We consume many drinks in our daily life, and while we prefer some of them to be cold, we want to drink some of them hot.
Although there are cold counterparts, we are used to consuming coffee and tea generally hot. It is scary to think that drinks such as cola, soda and beer are consumed hot.
The reason of this; Cold drinks suppress the taste buds. If you consume a glass of Coke at room temperature, these taste buds will emerge in their most natural form and the Coke will taste much sweeter to you in an unfamiliar way.
How does the subject progress when it comes to water, which is described as “tasteless” but which we can certainly taste on our tongue when we drink it?
For centuries, people thought that the taste of water came from minerals and salts dissolved in the water, and they were not entirely wrong in this view. However, when pure water is tasted, it is an undeniable fact that even this water has a taste. Pure water dissolves with some oxygen and carbon dioxide when it leaves the factory, and even the water we think is pure is not pure.
The taste of the water we drink differs for a number of reasons. The smell of the water, even the paste residues that we brush our teeth before going to bed at night, change the taste of the water.
The senses of taste and smell cannot be separated from each other. The smells that our nose perceives at that moment, for example the smell of the room where we drink water, can affect the taste of the water we drink.
When we wake up in the morning or brush our teeth before going to bed at night, no matter what flavor our toothpaste contains, it basically consists of mint extract. Unless these paste residues are completely removed from your mouth, the taste of the water we drink may differ with the effect of the toothpaste, and this mint effect may combine with the water we drink and make it feel fresh.
In addition, there are some substances even in the glass, which we are very sure that it is clean, and these mix with the water. Again, after eating, the parts that remain in our mouth and tongue in certain amounts affect the taste of the water we drink and the water we drink takes on a special taste.
So how can the temperature of water change its taste?
Cold water is quite good at suppressing taste buds and other negative factors that alter the taste of water. When the water is warm, the taste buds, the particles that spoil the water, and the taste buds that cause the taste of the water to be formed are much more exposed. For this reason, we may feel that we are drinking something completely different when we consume a cold beverage or a hot beverage.
You can clearly feel the difference when you add a certain amount of salt or sugar to a glass of water and taste it at different temperatures.
Our admiration for cold water can be associated with our body temperature, but also has psychological dimensions.
When our body temperature rises, we often feel thirsty, and to reduce this effect, the cold water we drink will lower our body temperature quickly, allowing us to feel refreshed.
Psychologically, the first answer that comes to mind is that we find the tastes we are used to more delicious. If you have noticed, for people who always drink cold water, season or weather conditions; on the other hand, they continue to drink cold water without affecting their health.
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