14 DAY TRIAL // Ever since we humans first got into the habit of snacking on chili peppers, our brain has been labeling spicy foods as hot. Minty flavors, on the other hand, are and always will be perceived as cool.
As explained in the video below, this is because certain chemicals that give spicy or minty treats their distinctive flavor activate sensors in our mouth that our body usually relies on to detect heat or cold.
The sensors that spicy or minty flavors toy with are known to the scientific community as ion channels. They are basically proteins that sit on our nerve cells and that, when triggered, cause a signal to form and head for the brain.
Having reached the brain, the signal is interpreted and a certain sensation is born. The thing is that, whenever ion channels are fooled by certain chemical compounds, the signal they help create is erroneous as well.
The protein that menthol, which is the active ingredient in mint, likes to play mind-games with is dubbed TRPM8. The result is a sensation of cold what would normally form in the presence of a stimulus such as ice water.
Capsaicin, which gives peppers their spicy flavor, binds with a protein named VR1. This protein usually detects heat, pain and injuries. Hence the fact that, when eating chili peppers, we feel like our mouth is on fire.
What this means is that, as surprising as this may sound, spicy foods literally taste hot and minty treats really do strike us as cool.
