Curious About Taste Buds

PODCAST 259: CURIOUS ABOUT TASTE BUDS

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2023

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT THE TONGUE ALL THE WAY BACK IN EPISODE 48.  THAT EPISODE CAME OUT FOUR YEARS AGO ON SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2019.  WHEN IT CAME OUT, OLIVIA WAS ONLY FIVE YEARS OLD, AND IN JUST A FEW WEEKS, OLIVIA WILL TURN TEN YEARS OLD.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GOING TO LEARN ABOUT A TOPIC THAT GOES REALLY WELL WITH THAT TONGUE EPISODE FROM FOUR YEARS AGO.  

O:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

“HI OLIVIA AND JACOB,

MY NAME IS LILY AND I AM EIGHT AND A HALF.  I LOVE LISTENING TO YOUR PODCAST.  I LIVE IN HUNTER VALLEY IN AUSTRALIA AND I LISTEN TO YOUR PODCAST AT SCHOOL AND AT HOME!  I AM CURIOUS ABOUT TASTE BUDS AND THE FIVE SENSES!  I’D LOVE TO HEAR YOU TALK ABOUT EITHER OF THOSE.  KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK!

FROM LILY AND LILY’S MUM, HANNAH”

***VM FROM LANE OF BRISBANE AUSTRALIA***

O:  THAT WAS ADORABLE.  WHEN LANE SENT US THAT VOICEMAIL A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, HE WAS 4 YEARS OLD AND HIS FIFTH BIRTHDAY WAS APPROACHING.  THAT’S THE SAME AGE I WAS WHEN WE STARTED THIS PODCAST FIVE YEARS AGO.  WE ARE SO THANKFUL TO HAVE LOTS OF SUPPORT FROM BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIA.  WE ARE PUMPED TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT TASTE BUDS FOR LILY AND LANE THIS WEEK.

D:  LET’S KICK OFF THIS TASTY EPISODE WITH THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

O:  EVERYONE’S TASTE BUDS ARE UNIQUE TO THEM.  AS PEOPLE GET OLDER, THE NUMBER OF WORKING TASTE BUDS CHANGES.  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, DO OLDER PEOPLE HAVE MORE OR LESS WORKING TASTE BUDS THAN YOUNGER PEOPLE?

D:  SO, TASTE BUDS ARE SUPER SMALL SENSORY ORGANS ON OUR TONGUES THAT ALLOW US TO TASTE THINGS.  IF YOU TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT YOUR TONGUE IN THE MIRROR, YOU MAY NOTICE SMALL BUMPS ON THE SURFACE OF YOUR TONGUE.  THOSE BUMPS ARE CALLED PAPILLAE.  YOUR TASTE BUDS ARE LOCATED INSIDE THE PAPILLAE, SO THEY ARE TINY.  HUMANS HAVE THOUSANDS OF TASTE BUDS.  GETTING EVEN SMALLER, EVERY TASTE BUD HAS BETWEEN 50 AND 100 RECEPTOR CELLS, AND WITHIN EACH OF THOSE RECEPTOR CELLS ARE MICROSCOPIC HAIRS THAT ALLOW US TO TASTE FOOD.  THAT’S RIGHT, TASTE HAIRS, ALSO CALLED MICROVILLI, ARE ON OUR TONGUES, AND THEY PLAY A BIG PART IN ALLOWING US TO TASTE THINGS.      

O:  BUT NOT ALL YOUR TASTE BUDS ARE ON YOUR TONGUE.  TASTE BUDS ARE LOCATED IN THE ROOF AND WALLS OF OUR MOUTHS, IN OUR THROAT, AND IN OUR ESOPHAGUS, WHICH IS THE TUBE THAT CARRIES FOOD FROM OUR THROAT TO OUR STOMACH.

D:  TASTE BUDS HELP YOU IDENTIFY WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE FOODS, BUT THEY ALSO HELP KEEP US SAFE AND HEALTHY, BY IDENTIFYING THINGS THAT MAY MAKE US SICK, LIKE ROTTEN MEAT OR SPOILED MILK.  

O:  OUR TASTE BUDS ARE CAPABLE OF DETECTING FIVE DIFFERENT TASTES, AND THOSE TASTES ARE SWEET, SALTY, BITTER, SOUR, AND SOMETHING CALLED UMAMI.

D:  SWEET FOODS ARE FOODS THAT TYPICALLY CONTAIN SOME SUGAR, LIKE FRUIT.  

O:  SALTY FOODS USUALLY CONTAIN TABLE SALT, ALSO CALLED SODIUM CHLORIDE, OR MINERAL SALTS, LIKE POTASSIUM.  POTATO CHIPS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF A SALTY FOOD.

D:  BITTER FOODS CAN BE TASTY OR THEY MIGHT TASTE PRETTY BAD.  PEOPLE SOMETIMES HAVE STRONG OPINIONS ON WHETHER BITTER FOODS AND DRINKS, LIKE DARK CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE, ARE YUMMY.  

O:  SOUR FOODS ARE ACIDIC, AND INCLUDE CITRUS FRUITS, LIKE LEMONS AND LIMES.  

D:  UMAMI IS A TASTE THAT IS DEFINED AS SAVORY OR MEATY.  VEGETABLES LIKE ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOMS ARE CONSIDERED UMAMI.  A LOT OF UMAMI FOODS HAVE A SUBSTANCE CALLED GLUTAMATE.  WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID, UMAMI WASN’T YET CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BASIC TASTES.  IT WASN’T UNTIL THE YEAR 1990 THAT IT WAS RECOGNIZED AS THE FIFTH TASTE.  EVEN THOUGH A JAPANESE CHEMIST IDENTIFIED THE UMAMI FLAVOR IN 1907, IT TOOK 83 YEARS TO BE RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE BASIC TASTES, AND YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHY.  IT’S BECAUSE IT TOOK A REALLY LONG TIME FOR HIS RESEARCH TO BE TRANSLATED FROM JAPANESE TO ENGLISH.  ONCE IT WAS TRANSLATED, THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY QUICKLY AGREED THAT IT WAS ONE OF THE BASIC FLAVORS WE CAN TASTE.    

O:  WHEN WE TASTE SOMETHING, OUR TASTE BUDS WORK WITH OLFACTORY RECEPTORS IN OUR NOSE THAT ALLOW US TO TASTE THINGS.  OUR SENSE OF SMELL PLAYS A BIG ROLE IN HOW WE TASTE THINGS.

D:  YOU MAY NOTICE THAT, WHEN YOU HAVE A STUFFY NOSE, YOU MAY NOT ENJOY YOUR FAVORITE FOODS AS MUCH AS YOU DO WHEN YOUR FEELING WELL, BECAUSE YOUR NOSE IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN ALLOWING YOU TO ENJOY THE TASTE OF FOOD.  

O:  WHEN YOU CHEW THE FOOD YOU’RE EATING, YOUR SALIVA AND TEETH ARE BREAKING THE FOOD DOWN INTO TINY PIECES, AND CHEMICALS ARE BEING RELEASED.

D:  WITHOUT CHEWING A FOOD, IT WON’T HAVE THE SAME TASTE.  YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF WITH AN EXPERIMENT.  DO YOU LOVE EATING APPLES LIKE I DO?  IF YOU DO, TRY THIS OUT.  TAKE A PIECE OF SLICED APPLE AND LICK IT.  IF YOU LICK IT, AND DON’T ACTUALLY PUT THE APPLE INTO YOUR MOUTH, HOW DOES IT TASTE?  DID YOU GET THE FULL FLAVOR OF THE APPLE?  NOW, TAKE A BIT OF THE APPLE AND CHEW IT THOROUGHLY.  THAT WILL RELEASE THE CHEMICALS, ALLOWING YOU TO TASTE THE FOOD MORE INTENSELY.  DO YOU NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE? 

O:  THOSE CHEMICALS THAT GET RELEASED WHEN YOU CHEW YOUR FOOD LAND ON YOUR TASTE BUDS.  THEY ALSO MOVE UP YOUR NASAL PASSAGES TO THE OLFACTORY RECEPTORS IN THE NOSE.  THE RECEPTORS IN THE MOUTH AND NOSE SEND MESSAGES TO YOUR BRAIN THAT ALLOW YOU TO ENJOY THE FLAVOR OF THE FOOD YOU’RE EATING.  

D:  SO, HOW IMPORTANT IS THE NOSE IN TASTING THINGS?  WELL, CHECK THIS OUT.  FIVE YEARS AGO THERE WAS A BIG DEBATE ON THE INTERNET ABOUT A POPULAR CANDY.  PEOPLE STARTED SUGGESTING THAT ALL SKITTLES TASTE THE SAME.  

O:  THEY WERE SAYING THAT EVEN THOUGH SKITTLES ALL TASTE THE SAME, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT SCENTS.  THAT MEANS THAT WITHOUT OUR SENSE OF SMELL, WE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TASTE OF A GREEN SKITTLE OR A PURPLE SKITTLE.

D:  MY MIND WAS BLOWN WHEN I WAS READING THIS.  SO, WHAT DID I DO?  I TRIED AN EXPERIMENT MYSELF.  I TRIED SEVERAL SKITTLES BLINDFOLDED, AND WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CORRECT COLOR ALMOST ALL OF THE TIME.  THEN, I DID THE SAME THING WITH CLIPS KEEPING MY NOSTRILS CLOSED.  WHEN I DID THAT, MY ABILITY TO IDENTIFY THE CORRECT COLOR WENT DOWN DRASTICALLY.  

O:  PEOPLE WERE STUNNED BY THE POSSIBILITY THAT SKITTLES MIGHT ALL TASTE THE SAME.  THE COMPANY THAT MADE SKITTLES EVEN RELEASED A STATEMENT THAT SAID THAT “EACH OF THE FIVE FRUITY FLAVORS IN SKITTLES HAS IT’S OWN INDIVIDUAL TASTE AND FLAVOR”.  

D:  THE DEBATE CONTINUES, BUT YOU CAN TRY EXPERIMENTING YOURSELF AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.  YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN’T SEE THE SKITTLES, BECAUSE PICKING THE RIGHT COLOR IS GOING TO BE PRETTY EASY IF YOU LOOK AT THEM BEFORE THEY GO IN YOUR MOUTH.  THEN TRY A BUNCH OF SKITTLES ALLOWING YOURSELF TO SMELL THEM FIRST, THEN TRY A BUNCH WITH YOUR NOSTRILS CLOSED.  TRY TO GUESS THE COLORS OF THE SKITTLES BOTH WAYS.  DID YOUR ACCURACY GO DOWN WITH YOUR NOSE CLOSED?  

O:  HERE’S AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN US WHEN IT COMES TO TASTING THINGS.  ABOUT ONE-QUARTER OF PEOPLE ARE WHAT ARE CALLED SUPERTASTERS.  THAT MEANS THAT THEY HAVE A HIGHER NUMBER OF TASTE BUDS, AND CAN TASTE CERTAIN THINGS MORE INTENSELY THAN EVERYONE ELSE.  IT TURNS OUT THAT BEING A SUPERTASTER USUALLY MAKES SOMEONE A PICKIER EATER.  

D:  HAVE YOUR PARENTS EVER TOLD YOU THAT YOU SHOULD RETRY FOODS YOU ONCE THOUGHT YOU DIDN’T LIKE BECAUSE YOUR TASTE BUDS ARE CHANGING?

O:  IT TURNS OUT THEY’RE RIGHT.  TASTE BUDS ONLY LIVE FOR ABOUT 10 TO 14 DAYS.  AFTER THAT, THEY GROW RIGHT BACK.  OVER TIME, YOUR FAVORITE AND LEAST FAVORITE FOODS CAN CHANGE A LOT.  

D:  IF THERE IS A FOOD YOU THINK YOU DON’T LIKE, BUT YOU AREN’T QUITE SURE, OR YOU HAVEN’T TRIED IT IN A WHILE, IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO GIVE IT ANOTHER SHOT.  FOR EVERYONE, BUT ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN, THE WAY THEY EXPERIENCE TASTE COMES FROM THEIR TASTE BUDS, BUT ALSO FROM THE SMELL OF A FOOD, THE APPEARANCE OF THE FOOD, AND ALSO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES WITH THAT FOOD OR SIMILAR FOODS.

O:  CHILDREN SOMETIMES HAVE THE TENDENCY TO DECIDE WHETHER THEY WILL LIKE A FOOD BEFORE THEY EVEN TASTE IT.

D:  I THINK YOU AND NOAH HAVE DONE PLENTY OF THAT.  SOMETIMES, MOM AND I WILL TRY TO GET YOU TO TASTE A NEW FOOD, AND YOU WILL TAKE A BITE OF IT THAT IS SO SMALL, IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO TASTE IT AT ALL, BUT THAT DOESN’T STOP YOU FROM MAKING A FACE THAT SUGGESTS THAT WE HAD JUST GIVEN YOU GARBAGE TO EAT.  WHEN YOU’RE TRYING A NEW FOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME, GIVE IT A FAIR CHANCE BY LOOKING AT IT, SMELLING IT, AND TAKING A NICE BIG BITE SO YOU CAN TRULY SEE IF YOU LIKE THE FOOD OR NOT.  

ALRIGHT OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  DO OLDER PEOPLE HAVE MORE WORKING TASTE BUDS OR LESS WORKING TASTE BUDS THAN YOUNGER PEOPLE?

O:  OLDER PEOPLE HAVE LESS WORKING TASTE BUDS.  A NEWBORN BABY HAS ABOUT 10,000 TASTE BUDS, BUT THE NUMBER USUALLY DECREASES OVER TIME.  AS WE GET OLDER, THE TASTE BUDS DON’T GROW BACK AS QUICKLY, AND THEY ALSO SHRINK AS WE AGE, WHICH RESULTS IN OLDER PEOPLE NOT BEING ABLE TO TASTE FOODS AS WELL AS YOUNGER PEOPLE.  

D:  THERE ARE THINGS WE CAN DO TO PRESERVE OUR SENSE OF TASTE AS WE GET OLDER.  WE CAN TAKE REALLY GOOD CARE OF OUR TEETH BY BRUSHING AND FLOSSING.  DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND GUMS CAN HURT OUR SENSE OF TASTE.  LIMITING HOW MUCH SALT YOU EAT CAN ALSO HELP KEEP YOUR TASTE BUDS NICE AND STRONG.  INCLUDING LOTS OF DIFFERENT FOODS IN YOUR DIET INSTEAD OF EATING THE SAME FEW THINGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS REALLY GOOD FOR YOUR TASTE BUDS AS WELL.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  259 - TASTE BUDS.  

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB LILY AND LANE FOR THE TASTY TOPIC FOR ALL OF THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST BUDS TO LISTEN TO.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE FOR THE WEEK, WE HAVE AN AMAZING LISTENER TO THANK.

O:  WE WANT TO THANK OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTER, MILO K., FOR THE LOVE AND SUPPORT.

D:  WE REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU AND ALL OUR PATREON SUPPORTERS DO TO HELP SUPPORT THE PODCAST.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK FOR OUR SEASON TEN FINALE.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.