From: Scientific American
Why Does Orange Juice Taste Bad After You Brush Your Teeth?
It’s a mistake you hopefully only make once. In your morning rush to get ready, you brush your teeth before you head to the kitchen and down a big glass of orange juice. Yuck!
What makes your clean, minty mouth taste so gross when it meets OJ?
The short answer is that toothpaste contains a detergent that dissolves fat. And since your taste buds are partly made of fat, they are disrupted whenever you brush your teeth.
Before you decide you need to stop brushing your teeth to save your taste buds, know that this disruption is temporary, lasting only a few minutes. Brushing with toothpaste is still important for your health.
But how does this change in taste happen? And how are the taste receptors that are all over the surface of your tongue supposed to work?
I’m a psychologist, and I’ve spent more than 40 years researching the science of how people experience taste and flavor.
Read the whole story (subscription may be required): Scientific American
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