#126 What are taste buds? (English)

What are taste buds?

Taste buds are universally known for being responsible for your ability to taste flavours, but most people have no idea the depth of their involvement in the body's survival instincts. Here are some surprising facts about taste buds that you probably don't know.

1.    Taste buds are not visible

The bumps on your tongue's surface are not actually taste buds, they are fungiform papillae, which each have an average of six taste buds buried with in its surface tissue. Taste receptors in the taste buds allow us to distinguish between tastes, such as sweet, salty and sour, by sending messages to the brain. Taste buds are also located on the roof of e mouth, throat and inside the stomach.

2. Individuals have different numbers of taste buds

The average adult has between 2000 and 10000. People who have more than 10000 are called "supertasters" because they taste things more intensely. Supertasters may not like vegetables as they can taste overwhelmingly bitter to them or very rich desserts as they can be overly sweet.

3. Taste buds are designed to keep us alive

Our ability to distinguish between flavours was designed as a survival mechanism in which the tongue tells the brain whether or not to swallow what is in the mouth. Infant are born with a preference to sugar and not bitterness. This is because natural sugar is an original source of fuel for the brain, whereas bitterness signaled poison so the taste system developed to protect the body from ingesting poison. Also, sodium is a mineral that helps make our muscles and nerves work, thus being the reason why many people crave salty foods.

4. Taste preferences can fluctuate with hormones

During early pregnancy, many women cannot stand to eat vegetables. This is supposedly due to their bitt taste being a signal for poison, so the brain becomes hardwired to avoid these foods so to protect the baby. Also, pregnant women tend to crave foods high in energy (like sugars and carbohydrates), hence the common pregnancy for sweets and desserts.

5. Taste buds are always regenerating

All taste buds go through a life cycle where they grow from basal cells into taste cells, then die. They are then sloughed away. A normal life cycle in an adult for a taste bud is usually from 10-15 days. Burning the tongue with hot foods can also kill taste cells, but they grow back which is the reason why taste doesn't deteriorate with age.

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