For decades, researchers have been trying to figure out why some people’s poop floats and others’ sinks in a toilet bowl filled with water. Around 15% of the total population is included in the first category.
There has been a theory concerning the relationship between the gas concentration of digestive contents and their buoyant qualities since at least 1972.
This was formerly thought to be caused by a high amount of fat in the feces.
In a study published in “Scientific Reports,” researchers led by Nagarajan Kannan of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester suggest that the gas-based assumption regarding the floating poop may in fact be correct.
Gas-producing bacterias
They found that excrement from germ-free mice always settled to the bottom of the tank. While half of the conspecifics with a typical microbiome also had feces that floated to the surface, the other half did not. Researchers were intrigued by this and decided to infect the germ-free mice with gut microbes from regular mice and two young females. Consequently, these animals had feces that were more buoyant.
There is now conclusive evidence that gas produced by intestinal microorganisms, as opposed to unswallowed air or other factors, is responsible for the flotation of poop. Examining the floating poop more closely revealed that it was full of gas-producing bacteria like Bacteroides ovatus and Bacteroides uniformis.
Humans produce more methane and have more farts as a result of both of these factors.
All these considerations are essential for a proper analysis.
The 1972 research
A discussion between gastroenterologist Michael Levitt of the University of Minnesota Hospitals and his student William Duane, who mentioned that his stools would always float, was the genesis of the 1972 theory. A little while later, Duane brought in a feces sample, which the two scientists quickly compressed and then dropped into the water.
They sampled 33 people and found that 9 of them had stools that floated. The poop again sank when Levitt and Duane released the gas in it. At the time, scientists had a sneaking suspicion that an imbalance in the gut bacteria was to blame for the floating poop, since two samples showed very high methane levels that could only have been caused by improper digestion of carbon-rich food. Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the science behind the floating and sinking poop.
Food safety rules are usually called into question in the wake of health problems in the meat sector, such as mad cow disease, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, and avian flu. Nonetheless, this kind of inquiry is not novel. In fact, the West has been monitoring and regulating food, particularly meat, since the Middle Ages due to concerns about the presence of unhealthy and corrupt meat. Media coverage of meat crises sometimes draws parallels to the “medieval” era, but what about the real hygiene standards of the actual Middle Ages?
Laws to Regulate Butchery in the Middle Ages
Avoiding the potential dangers associated with consuming meat was a top priority for the ruling classes of the medieval western world. But even though these threats were often misdiagnosed or not taken seriously in other ways, they caused a lot of worry and anxiety.
A medieval baker punished for breaking the rules.
A complex and fruitful legal system was the end result of this. Lords, municipalities, and even the monarch himself, on rare occasions, issued decrees to maintain public peace and safety. Rather than being only suggestions, they were actual “laws” that had to be discussed (sometimes bitterly) and came with enforcement mechanisms like checks and balances and penalties for breaking them.
Most medieval texts on meat distribution were written between 1200 and 1500 AD.
The Charter of Mirepoix, enacted in 1303 AD, is a prime example of the kind of meat regulation that was common in the Middle Ages. The fact that it was signed in front of the city lord, notaries, law professors, city officials, and all the butchers of the city shows that King Philip IV of France knew about the legal, economic, and political issues surrounding food.
This charter was not even exceptional. Most medieval texts on meat distribution were written between 1200 and 1500 AD. In the urban centers of southern France and Italy, it was mostly the work of municipal leaders to standardize the sale of meat. Legal matters were taken up by medieval guilds in the northern hemisphere, such as the Parisian butcher’s shop, whose bylaws were enforced upon all butchers in the city.
From the 13th century forward, medieval European society placed a greater emphasis on food law, which was formed in a disjointed and ad hoc fashion by a variety of means, including conventions, ordinances, capitulations, charters, laws, etc. Sometimes, the enforcement of this legislation was harsh.
Animal Products That Were Forbidden
While Christians have not been bound by the dietary taboos that Jews and Muslims observe, there are still times when it’s best to steer clear of animal products for the sake of public health. People in the Middle Ages often consulted Greek and Roman historians like Hippocrates and Galen to help them figure this out.
In the Middle Ages, animals were the target of two legal restrictions. The first involved goats, which had more to do with making dairy products than anything else. Goat meat was devalued in the cities because, according to Hippocrates, it was thought to spread illnesses like fever and cholera. Despite health concerns, the selling of kids (baby goats) was sometimes allowed. And this was justified by the prevailing desire for its flavor.
Horse meat was the second kind of meat that was never allowed in the Middle Ages. The Church viewed its consumption as a primitive and paganic act, but the common man saw the animal as a work buddy helping to plow the fields or even as a confidant. Therefore, the practice of eating horse meat gained a bad reputation during the era.
So, butchers could sell sheep, cattle, and pork meat from their shops as long as the meat was “excellent, useful, and not sick,” according to Middle Ages meat consumption charters.
Since medical advancement was so slow during this period, any and all prohibitions could be instituted at the first sign of a disease. Disease transmission from animals to humans was a major issue for medieval man when it came to the safety of food sources. People went to great lengths to prevent illnesses like leprosy (from Leptospira bacteria).
Medieval Practices for Slaughter and Sales
The slaughtering of animals was subject to some of the most stringent hygienic regulations in the Middle Ages with regard to meat. Among the various regulations, one that stands out is the requirement that animals enter the city on foot and go through sanitary control before being butchered.
As early as 1450, butchers in the Italian city of Verona were compelled to kill animals in their shops, albeit they were typically not permitted to do so in their homes and had to instead utilize public slaughterhouses. The administration further worked on improving the regulation by creating a physical barrier between the slaughterhouse and the market. The animals had to get to these places on their own, which gave the buyer confidence that they were in good health.
Each animal was charged as it entered the city, with the tax system providing additional financial support for sanitary regulations. The animals were then given a thorough internal and external checkup to make sure they were healthy before being put to death. After that, butchers could still slaughter animals and sell them, but they had to follow more rules.
The sale of any perishable item required special attention, and the meat was no exception. Due to the impossibility of storing goods and the rigidity of sales windows, butchers operated on a just-in-time, demand-driven model. These deadlines were often two or three days, or at the very latest, a day and a half, after the animal was slaughtered.
Butchers were allowed to store freshly slaughtered meat for two days in the winter and one and a half days in the summer. Moreover, beef was not the only product that was subject to tight standards at the moment of sale; bread, milk, fish, and shellfish were all subject to similar rules. It was against the law for pork butchers and sausage makers to sell cooked meat. This was done to stop the sale of leftovers and the spread of disease.
After Everything Is Said and Done
So, is it fair to compare any contemporary meat scandals to the butchery standards of the Middle Ages? The laws regarding the sale and consumption of meat in the Middle Ages were impressive, but there could be a significant discrepancy between theory and practice, leaving historians to wonder whether these standards were ever really respected by the medieval butchers. But the reality is that maintaining hygienic standards seems to have been a priority for medieval civilization, a concern that echoes the persistent fiction of a meat-related phobia in contemporary culture.
The most frustrating part is trying to fill the cake pan evenly with the dough and failing miserably. The cake is once again thicker in the center than on the sides when you take it out of the oven once the timer has chimed. There, the box cakes generally burst open all the way. In any case, why is this happening in the first place?
The science of cakes
High temperatures are achieved on the exterior of the pan considerably sooner than in the center of the cake. That gives the middle part of the cake a lot more time to rise.
The cake pan is designed to effectively transfer oven heat to the outside edges of the baked product. The dough cooks quickly there and bakes through. The proteins inside it cross-link as it does. The dough immediately hardens at the edges since that’s where the heat resides. It’s more difficult for the baking powder to penetrate there.
When the temperature is not too high, baking powder releases carbon dioxide gas, causing the dough to rise. The gas causes the dough to expand by creating tiny bubbles in it. This occurs most often in the cake’s middle, where the dough has remained liquid for the longest. Which explains why a mound always seems to appear there. However, near the solid edge that has been cooked, the dough will not continue to rise.
Similarly to the molten state of lava from a volcano
However, there is another explanation for this cake phenomenon that has nothing to do with temperature. The cake sticks to the outside of the baking pan. But, there is no resistance in the middle. Therefore, when the cake rises, it simply takes the path with the least resistance.
The cake’s top layer always warms up faster, allowing it to cook before the middle. A very tough skin may develop in this way. The pressure of the steam and carbon dioxide produced in the cooler inside causes this skin to break apart. This resembles lava pouring out of a volcano.
Yeasty, but not pizza-related
Yeast dough delivers the same result. Instead of using baking powder, the microorganisms in the yeast deconstruct the sugar and release carbon dioxide, which causes the cake to rise. However, similar to how carbon dioxide creation tends to halt in the center of the cake if it bakes through more quickly at the edges, this also holds true here.
To be clear, the opposite is true with pizza. No pan is needed since the topping will push down on the dough. As a result, you get a higher edge on the outside.
Wrapping the baking pan with anything, such as aluminum foil and a damp towel, helps prevent your cake from spreading out of shape during baking. People who are passionate about making cakes often use this method. The key is to slow down the rate at which the pan heats up. The cakes should rise more uniformly, at the very least.
The pressure cooker is like a rocket ship compared to other kitchen gadgets. It’s claimed to speed up the cooking process while keeping the food more delicate than a regular pot.
But, why? Which factors lead to more rapid cooking when using pressure cooking? Do nutrients and nutritious foods survive steam cooking better compared to other methods?
The effect of the pressure cooker on foods
Pressure in the cooker is the determining factor for how much faster food can be cooked. A pressure cooker’s valve prevents the water from evaporating from the food, and the broth cannot escape. The pressure within the pot increases, almost equal to that experienced while scuba diving to a depth of 33 feet (10 meters) below the surface.
Vegetables and other things in the pot are softened more rapidly due to the increased pressure acting on their cells.
However, the vegetable cells are not damaged, since this would render them inedible. Instead, the increased pressure actually loosens the structure of the cells and tissues. Starch, for example, is a versatile component that may be used to facilitate the rapid transformation of food’s shape and texture during cooking.
How does pressure cooking work?
However, the pot’s temperature also shifts due to the increased pressure.
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This is because, under standard settings, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius or 212 degrees Fahrenheit. And cannot be heated much above that point. However, as the pressure increases, more energy is needed to make the water boil. This occurs between 230 and 240 Fahrenheit (110 and 116 degrees Celsius), the range at which a pressure cooker operates.
The meal stays hot for longer because the hot steam is able to convey its heat more efficiently than dry air. This is readily seen by holding your palm in a dry oven heated to 100 degrees Celsius and then over a kettle of boiling water, which is likewise 100 degrees Celsius but feels much hotter due to the presence of steam. This impact, together with the increased temperatures, helps the food in a pressure cooker become ready sooner. Depending on the dish and the amount, you may cut your cooking time in half with pressure cooking.
More vitamins are preserved despite pressure and heat
But doesn’t the higher heat from the pressure cooker also destroy the vitamins? Or is it true that this method of cooking is less taxing on nutritious ingredients? High-pressure cooking in a pressure cooker is far better. Vegetables don’t need to be submerged in water since the liquid quickly evaporates. Vitamins B and C, which are water-soluble, tend to stick around after cooking rather than dissolving into the meal.
However, at the start of the cooking period, almost all of the oxygen in the pressure cooker exits via the valve. The thickening steam almost obliterates it. Some vitamins, notably vitamin C, degrade when exposed to oxygen over time. However, they remain intact in the pressure cooker’s low-oxygen environment. For example, whereas broccoli loses 90% of its vitamin C during regular cooking, pressure cooking preserves almost 50% of it.
In contrast, the fat-soluble beta-carotene A found in carrots has a distinct effect: Here, the elevated pressure causes the provitamin to be expelled from the plant cells and into the bloodstream, where we may more easily absorb it.
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Therefore, cooked carrots have even more beta-carotene than their raw counterparts. Vitamin B1, which may be found in potatoes, is similar.
When a bag of chips is opened, all the healthy intentions go out the window. Once in a great while, we control ourselves and consume just a modest amount of those fatty, salty treats.
But most of the time, we just finish the whole bag in one sitting. And even in the supermarket, many people find it difficult to walk past the shelves of potato chips without putting some in the shopping cart. But why? When it comes to potato chips, why is it so hard for us to go without them, or at least limit our consumption? After all, everybody knows how caloric and unhealthy these potato chips actually are.
Your Brain Circuit and Neurotransmitters
Your insatiable need for salt in your biology could be to blame. This desire is actually similar to the need for a drink of water. The need for salt is hardwired into humans and dates back more than a hundred million years. The reasoning for this is obvious: Salt is an essential component of every living thing. However, you won’t always be able to find salt in the wild.
Therefore, our forefathers’ brains likely evolved a circuit to maximize their salt intake whenever it was available.
The Scientists claim that this “salt circuit” is still functional to this day. Satisfaction-inducing neurotransmitters are produced in the brain in response to a salty diet. Like when we gulp down a drink to quench our intense thirst. The flip side of this is that it guarantees regularly experiencing an unconscious need for salt. This happens because the reward circuitry in the brain is wired to respond to the needs of our ancestors. Similar mechanisms underlie cocaine and heroin dependence.
A Dose of Salt Stimulates The Appetite For More
However, the fat content in chips contributes to their infamously addicting character. The taste for salty meals is also a holdover from our animal predecessors, as is the inclination for fatty foods: Fats are uncommon in nature yet essential for cell function, making their consumption by organisms an evolutionary necessity. High-fat meals are no longer uncommon in today’s culture, yet we still have a primal need for them.
A naturally occurring chemical in the body serves as the trigger for the craving for fatty meals.
The intoxicating active component of the hemp plant is linked to these so-called endocannabinoids. Interestingly, when your tongue detects the characteristic fatty flavor, your stomach likely already produces this endocannabinoid.
That’s what the results of the rat studies the scientists conducted last year show. The endocannabinoid released in the gut starts to work even before you have finished swallowing the first potato chip. After that, it causes the stomach to produce more digestive enzymes, which makes you feel hungrier.
In other words, dietary fats cause an endocannabinoid response in the body, making fatty meals almost irresistible for you, with potato chips being a good example. In short, for many of us, potato chips are almost impossible to resist due to two primitive addiction systems we inherited from our ancestors, especially animal ancestors.
Nonetheless, we still can’t easily resist these urges and cravings even though we are conscious, thinking creatures. This is because resisting an urge actually goes against our nature. The findings of this study by Daniele Piomelli were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
What makes chocolate so addictive? Chocolate, in any of its many forms (dark, milk, or white), is a food that is consistently well-liked by a large number of people. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that, for many people, chocolate is inextricably linked to happiness. They feel the urge to consume at least one portion of this delectable delight by melting it in their mouths each day. They turn into “chocoholics” (chocolate addicts).
According to a study, those who are susceptible to chocolates may go through similar physiological changes to those who become dependent on substances like alcohol or drugs. Similarly, people who are addicted to chocolate have an unquenchable desire for it that nothing can fill.
More than 40 percent of women and 15 percent of men have a craving for chocolate that is comparable to addiction. In more severe cases, people may consume chocolate in secret or in large quantities, similar to the way that some people do it with alcohol.
People who are addicted to chocolate state that they become irritable when they are unable to indulge in their habit. The desire for chocolates is very comparable to these more common types of addiction. But it’s not clear if these similarities are enough to show a link between chocolate and the complex physical and mental effects of addiction.
Simply Having a Sweet Is Not Sufficient
So, why is it that chocolate is so hard to turn down? There are a lot of hypotheses about it, but there isn’t much evidence to back them up, and there isn’t much agreement among specialists. Some researchers believe that the addictive qualities of chocolate are caused by the high amount of sugar that is contained in it. A preference for sweet foods is hardwired into the human brain, as well as the brains of many other animals. This is likely due to the high amount of energy that is contained in sweet foods.
However, 75 percent of people who identify as chocoholics claim that other types of sweets are unable to satisfy their cravings.
Some people may base their addiction on the typical flavor of chocolate, which can be described as the way it melts on their tongue. Other people may base their decision on the texture of the chocolate.
But for this to be true, white chocolate should be able to satisfy the needs of chocoholics too. Because its consistency is identical to that of cocoa, and it lacks cocoa’s flavor and, possibly, the elements of cocoa that are beneficial to the body’s physiological function. Experiments have been carried out to prove this theory. According to that, white chocolate temporarily reduces cravings for chocolate, but the effect is only temporary.
This suggests that either a biologically active component or the typical aroma of chocolate plays a role in the development of chocolate addiction.
Effects of Chocolate Addiction Are Comparable to Those of Cannabinoids
Anandamide.
Researchers who specialize in the study of addiction note that chocolate contains several substances that affect a person’s body and mind. Among them are the precursors of anandamide, which is a molecule with an action in the brain that is analogous to that of the narcotic that can be found in cannabis. The coffee stimulants include caffeine, tyramine, and phenylethylamine, among others.
The euphoria you experience from eating chocolate may be due to the increased levels of anandamide in your brain. On the other hand, the physiologically active components of the chocolate may work together to produce this effect. There has been no investigation into whether or not this is the case. It is still unknown whether these substances found in chocolate are indeed sufficient to cause a biological impact.
Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the cravings that are reminiscent of chocolate addiction are real, even if the exact mechanism of action is unknown. Medical professionals and nutritionists need to take this into account when attempting to alter the eating behaviors of their patients, especially those who are overweight.
Many people use the spring as an incentive to shed a few pounds before the bikini season begins. Unfortunately, many people quickly put back on the weight that they had just recently lost. But, why does this happen? Why do so many people end up failing on their diet?
In many countries, most of the population (around 80 percent) has tried a diet at least once in the past. Yet, this is often with no lasting results. Because of the “yo-yo effect,” many people who try to lose weight end up gaining as much as they lost before. Diets are effective in the long run as a single weight-control treatment only in a few rare cases. There are several obstacles that prevent this. Current therapy methods can be improved upon only if the potential reasons for diet failure are understood.
Cutting down on food intake for a short time isn’t effective
For people seeking to lose weight, diets are typically a temporary way to get the weight off as rapidly as possible. Many diets are so complicated from the start that they can only be followed for a limited period of time. Most of the time, the diet is over once the weight has been lost. This is equivalent to having the patient’s primary care physician withdraw the medication when the ideal blood pressure is achieved.
The term “diet” originates from the Greek for “lifestyle,” and this means a lot. Long-term changes in diet and way of life, beyond the weight-loss period, are necessary for maintaining a healthy weight loss. This is often overlooked by diet plans.
The diet failure rate is further boosted by the fact that many people set themselves impossible targets. Any weight loss plan that sets a weekly target of 11 pounds (5 kilos) is certain to fail.
As a result of the high likelihood of failing to achieve such weight goals, motivation wanes, and the diet is abandoned. There is no universally effective diet plan that can be applied to everyone. There is only a small percentage of overweight people who may successfully lose weight by following a certain diet, exercising regularly, and changing their eating habits.
Both restrictions and freedoms taken to the extreme might be detrimental
Diet plans with a behavioral framework that does not proclaim categorical bans like “no more chocolate” and does not make particular foods mandatory like the “cabbage diet” are actually more effective in the long run. Those diets help people avoid binge eating, which is often driven by the simplest urges when prohibitions or absolute rules are broken.
The availability of over 200,000 different foods in supermarkets is a boon to quality of life. However, a high-calorie intake is another consequence of a wide food selection. Numerous studies have demonstrated that people tend to consume more calories when they have a wide array of options to choose from.
Extra-large servings of high-calorie meals can increase calorie intake. The “discount effect” is at play here. The customer is getting a lot of value for his or her money, making it a desirable offer. But this is bad news for your weight since the higher calorie intake is rarely balanced out. When we are trying to lose weight, most of us don’t just eat less at the next meal; we consume the same amount we normally would.
In certain cases, there simply is no remedy
Some causes of diet failure can’t be sidestepped. A genetic tendency, for instance, or the outward expression of undesirable behaviors that have already taken place over decades, cannot be reversed in such a manner. However, by making certain adjustments to your way of life, you may boost the odds of long-term diet success even under such circumstances.
In addition to lots of healthy activity and training, keeping in active contact with family, friends, and the doctor who is treating you actually aids in weight loss.
For a diet to be successful, establishing attainable targets and a range of monitoring options is crucial.
When colorful, hard-boiled Easter eggs are everywhere it’s that time of year again: But if you want to get at their insides, you first have to peel them – and that’s where the problem begins. Because all too often, large parts of the “egg white” or albumen stick to the shell. As a result, your egg looks more like a ruin than a smooth, appetizing Easter snack. But why do some eggs peel so badly? Did they lack the cold shower after boiling? Or is this perhaps just a myth after all?
It is indeed a myth that cold water alone affects the peeling of an egg. Freshly laid eggs, if they are only a few hours or at most two days old, do not peel any better after cold watering than before.
Older is better for eggs – at least when it comes to peeling
The decisive factor for the peelability of eggs is not the cold water, but the age of the egg. That’s because it’s associated with important chemical changes inside the shell. The egg is made up of many proteins, and the shell skin is also bound to the shell, and the albumen, with these molecules.
In freshly laid eggs this bond is still very strong. When you peel them, you, therefore, tear off pieces of the albumen along with the shell and shell membrane.
How does it work?
As the egg gets older, it loses carbon dioxide. This slowly escapes through the fine pores in the eggshell. This changes the acidity level inside the egg – similar to sparkling water, from which the carbon dioxide escapes. The pH rises from near-neutral levels to 8 to 9, and the egg becomes more basic. A pH of 7 is considered neutral – neither acidic nor basic.
Binding of the shell skin to the protein weakens
When the pH in the egg changes, this in turn affects how the proteins interact with each other. The proteins change their binding properties; in the more basic range, their binding power is no longer as strong. As a result, the shell skin is also no longer as strongly bound to the protein. If you try to peel such an older egg, the shell skin easily separates together with the shell from the solid albumen – the egg remains intact and smooth.
And with an already older egg, even cold water can then help. If you then throw the egg into cold water, the shell contracts while the boiled egg white is still hot. This creates tension, which can help loosen the shell skin from the egg white. But that’s not the primary effect then. More important is the aging of the egg.
Cold water makes eggs spoil faster
In fact, the cold water can even do harm. The cold shower causes the egg white to cool abruptly and contract. This creates a vacuum under the shell of the egg which is sucking of air, water, and also bacteria through the porous lime shell into the interior.
As a result, cold water makes eggs spoil faster. This reduces the shelf life to just a few days. Normally, on the other hand, a hard-boiled egg can be kept for up to a month, and in the refrigerator for as long as six weeks.
The bee colony lives under the slogan “All for one, one for all.” There are between 30,000 and 80,000 individual bees in a hive, and none of them could survive on their own. The only thing that assures the insect population will continue to exist is the perfect division of work inside the hive. The queen bee is primarily responsible for reproduction at all times.
On the other hand, the worker bees are responsible for all of the other tasks, including the care of the young, the collection of food, and the protection of the nest. However, the male bees, often known as drones, do not seem to contribute much to the common good and would rather have their needs met. The only duty they have is to mate with the queen, and this happens over and over again. But should we really believe that? Are drones as lazy as they seem?
When considering the number of forays they make each day, bees as a species might be characterized as “lazy.” On the other hand, the honey bee colony functions as a superorganism that is very hardworking. Every day, bees are responsible for pollinating several million flowers.
The Main Role of Drone Bees
But what exactly are drones responsible for in a bee colony? It is not possible for drones to gather nectar and pollen, construct honeycombs, or feed babies.
A bee colony uses drones to spread its genetic material. The physical effort drone bees make during their multiple mating flights is extraordinary. That’s why they are actually diligent. That’s why drones cannot eat themselves and must be fed by workers throughout their lives.
Temperature Control and Communication
Simply by being in the hive, drones perform an essential role in the process of temperature control. Their bodies provide insulation, and they have the ability to create heat via the use of their flight muscles. But there is little doubt that the drones also played some part in the intricate communication system that the bees used.
They Die From Not Being Fed
Drone bees seem to be employed not just as sperm banks, but also for a variety of other important hive tasks. Despite this, they do not get a lot of appreciation for doing what they are doing. Drone bees face a hasty demise after the conclusion of the mating season, which occurs in August and September at the very latest.
After then, they have fulfilled their purpose and are no longer fed by the workers; the drones are destined to perish from hunger. They often pass away within the hive, and their bodies are then removed.
Even more, worker bees regularly stab drones that are still living.
How is it possible to accustom ourselves to enjoy a flavor that previously had a repulsive taste? There is a widespread consensus among coffee consumers that coffee has an unpleasant flavor, especially when first sipped. Despite this, they identify themselves as coffee enthusiasts. Then they will tell you, “You just have to get accustomed to the taste.” “You learn to enjoy the taste,” even if it’s something unpleasant like a bitter alcoholic beverage, a hot dish, or the smell of cigarettes. But how does it even work? How can we overcome our dislike for flavors that are unpleasant?
Humans have the most bitter taste receptors, with around 25 distinct ones identified. Sweets, on the other hand, only have one receptor. Frogs have roughly 50 bitter receptors, coelacanth fish have about 70, while penguins only feel salty and sour flavors.
A defensive purpose
To begin, the ability to detect bitter flavors serves a defensive purpose. Poisonous or inedible plants are often bitter, which almost immediately discourages humans from consuming them. As a result of this, this protective reflex is still very potent in children, who tend to put a lot of items in their mouths as they investigate their surroundings. Despite this, there are a lot of individuals who really like things that make other people grimace. Coffee, for example, has a taste that is at first revolting, but most people grow to appreciate its flavor after giving it some time to grow on them.
It is about experience and time
For one thing, it’s all a question of becoming used to an unpleasant taste; the more often we are exposed to it, the less it affects us after the first few times we experience it. This is mostly because the first warning becomes less effective over time, assuming that the sour flavor does not result in unfavorable experiences. If you felt queasy after drinking just a little bit of coffee, you probably won’t ever get accustomed to the taste of coffee.
Positive reinforcement is what matters
However, the concept known as positive reinforcement is the most significant factor in determining behavior. The mere absence of a bad experience is insufficient to make the flavor desirable on its own. On the other hand, if an occurrence is followed by a beneficial result, then the response to the occurrence will supersede the unpleasant warning signal. Caffeine, which is found in coffee, for example, is what causes this energizing effect. This reinforcement may also happen when the activity is done with other people, like when you have coffee and cake with friends or family.
How it works?
To put it another way, our brain is capable of learning two different things. To begin, the flavor isn’t all that horrible. Second, the flavor has pleasant after effects on the person. The initial aversion is gradually transformed into something else entirely in the end.
