Did you know taste buds are not only found in our mouths; but are also found in our GIT (Gastrointestinal Tract), airways, bladder and even in our brain and spinal cord? Well YEAH!
What Are Taste Buds?
Taste buds are end organs that relay a sensation of taste to the brain to produce response(s) from the body. They are like the middle man between the brain and the other parts of the body such as the tongue. They are receptors. Did you know taste buds are not only found in our mouths; but are also found in our GIT (Gastrointestinal Tract), airways, bladder and even in our brain and spinal cord? Well YEAH!
Also, according to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary; a taste bud is
“ an end organ that mediates the sensation of taste, lies chiefly in the epithelium of the tongue and especially in the walls of the circumvallate papillae and consist of a conical or flask-shaped mass made up partly of supporting cells and partly of neuroepithelial sensory cells terminating peripherally in short hair like processes which projects into the pore in the overlying epithelium and by which communication with the mouth cavity is effected “
Taste' Ers and Taste Types
Taste Types
Okay so that might be a lot for most of us to process.
Now we all know the 5 basic tastes, I would list them again:
Sweet
Sour(Acidic)
Salty
Bitter and
Unami(Savory)
These are majorly the taste scientists have been able to prove that the majority of us with the help of our taste buds can taste on our tongues. I would liken the sweet taste to sugar(glucose), the sour to lime(acidic tastes), the salty to (fill in the gap) but salt mostly, the bitter to dark chocolates and the unami to meat.
You might be wondering. What are taste buds doing in my brain! Well their major function is to receive signals in order to trigger other reactions. Take for example; the taste buds in your GUT transmit signals to the brain to regulate nutrient uptake and regulate the release of gut hormones. Cool right?
Taste'Ers
So far we have the:
Super Tasters
Sub Tasters/ Medium Tasters and
Non Tasters.
The classification above was based on the ability of individuals to taste 6-n-propylthiouracil; this was added to water, while non tasters couldn’t taste it at all, the medium tasters were able to taste that it was bitter but didn’t react strongly to it as the super tasters did.
So the degree of taste and number of taste buds increases from:
Non tasters - Sub tasters - Supertasters
Due to this; supertasters are more sensitive to hot and spicy foods than others, but not just that. We would get into more details on this in the next post!
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