Have you ever taken a sip of water after chewing mint gum? Does your mouth feel like it is frozen? Today, we’re going to learn why drinking water after chewing mint gum makes our mouths so cold!
What you need:
- Mint gum
- Cool water
Steps:
- Chew a stick of mint gum for as long as you would like, at least 1-2 minutes.
- Spit out the gum.
- Take a sip of cool water.
- See how cold the water feels in your mouth!
Why does water feel cold after I chew mint gum?
Most mint gum contains an ingredient called menthol. Menthol activates a protein in our mouth called TRPM8 (transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M member 8). TRPM8 is a cold receptor that sends a message to our brain saying that the TRPM8 receptor is in contact with something cold. When we combine water with the mint gum, our TRPM8 channel is already sensitized from the menthol, and the water causes the neurons to fire again and send more cold signals to our brains. How cool!
Photo source:
Lecklitner, Ian. “Why Does My Mouth Freeze When I Drink Water After Chewing Gum?” Dollar Shave Club, 30 Nov. 2018, www.dollarshaveclub.com/content/story/why-does-my-mouth-freeze-when-i-drink-water-after-chewing-gum.
Isla
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