Why come the burn from carbonation is pleasant but the burn from alcohol isnt?
from cheese_greater@lemmy.world to nostupidquestions@lemmy.ca on 12 Mar 00:35
https://lemmy.world/post/44137493

What sorcery is this?

#nostupidquestions

threaded - newest

Kolanaki@pawb.social on 12 Mar 00:38 next collapse

Same for extremely spicy food vs extremely minty food.

cheese_greater@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 01:29 collapse

Does your butthole feel the extreme minty coolness on its way out like spicy food?

Kolanaki@pawb.social on 12 Mar 01:35 collapse

No, but Dr. Bronner’s peppermint castile soap can give you that minty fresh tingle there.

rumschlumpel@feddit.org on 12 Mar 00:51 next collapse

Speak for yourself, every once in a while I absolutely love the mouthfeel of good >50% booze. But also, alcohol is literally poison, so it’s not particularly surprising that a lot of people don’t like it in high concentrations.

cheese_greater@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 00:55 collapse

Not so much mouthfeel but throatfeel if that makes any sense

rumschlumpel@feddit.org on 12 Mar 01:03 collapse

Sure. Still good. Add stomachfeel for good measure. Part of the trick is to be really careful to not let it hit your windpipe, and to take small sips instead of trying to drink it all in one go.

alsimoneau@lemmy.ca on 12 Mar 02:30 collapse

Also don’t aerate it like wine.

rumschlumpel@feddit.org on 12 Mar 04:41 collapse

Depends. If the spirit has some harsh edges, letting it sit in a glass or decanter for maybe 30 minutes can improve the experience.

over_clox@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 01:01 next collapse

Disclaimer: I dunno fuckall about this, and I’m no medical expert by far…

But if I may speculate, I think the burping action, although awkward and often embarrassing, still also causes a pleasant sensation, as if you were scratching an internal itch, so to speak…

🤷

hzl@piefed.blahaj.zone on 12 Mar 01:58 next collapse

I would imagine it’s something to do with the Maillard reaction.

Nemo@slrpnk.net on 12 Mar 02:23 next collapse

Carbonation doesn’t burn, for me; and the burn from alcohol is pleasant, for me.

You’re asking about your own preferences, here.

cheese_greater@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 16:05 collapse

Even if you drink a bunch of soda real fast? You dont feel anything in your throat or nose?

Nemo@slrpnk.net on 12 Mar 17:06 collapse

If I drink it fast enough it’s going up my nose, yeah it burns. Even milk burns going up the nose.

cheese_greater@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 17:27 collapse

But also your throat, no? I thought “the [pleasant] burn” was more or less universal, perhaps just a matter of how fast its ingested

sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz on 12 Mar 03:36 next collapse

My guess is carbonation burn is more tactile than taste, if you know what I mean by that.

We feel bubbles, we taste alcohol

cheese_greater@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 05:21 collapse

My initial comparison since I was drinkkng it today was Ginger Ale

sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz on 12 Mar 07:43 collapse

Ooh, ginger has it’s own intense natural burn. Have you ever had an Original Flavor Liquid Death™? It’s just water but it has a distinctive taste, which probably disproves my theory

cheese_greater@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 12:07 collapse

Actually any soda really, even kombucha which is my fave.

sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz on 12 Mar 12:10 collapse

Wait I think kombucha can have ginger, trace alcohol, AND bubbles 🤯 that’s gotta be like the spiciest beverage

cheese_greater@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 12:22 collapse

The alcohol is basically not even there tho, its so minute haha. Ironically, if I’m craving a drink, kombucha is often enough actually to mildly satisfy that

lvxferre@mander.xyz on 12 Mar 11:41 collapse

For me it’s the complete opposite — I don’t like either, but if I had to choose, I’d have the burn from rather alcohol than fizz.

Anyway, I checked it online. Apparently fizz and booze are detected by different ion channels. (An “ion channel” is a protein at the membrane of your cells, triggered when some substances hit it.) They are:

  • fizz (carbon dioxide dissolved in water) - based on this article it’s detected by the TRPA1 ion channel, that also detects the essential oils in horseradish, mustard, and wasabi.
  • booze (ethanol) - based on this article, it’s detected by the TRPV1 ion channel instead; it’s the same that detects capsaicin (from hot peppers) and vanilloids (a bunch of substances similar to the one found in vanilla).

Their names don’t matter, so don’t worry if you can’t remember the alphabet soup. What matters is that, even if your brain interprets the presence of both substances as a “burn”, your body detected them through different mechanisms. And odds are different individuals are more sensitive to one or another mechanism; that difference is what makes them interpret the burn as a pleasant and mild sensation versus a harsh and hurtful one.

Plus the activity of both ion channels can be decreased, through constant exposure. As in, if you’re often hitting one of them, they stop spamming your brain with ‘HEY, I FOUND A SUBSTANCE!’ signals. (This might explain why I’d rather have booze than fizz. I’m not really used to drink fizz, but I do like some booze, and pepper sauce. Pepper being detected by the same channel as the booze means my TRPV1 channels are desensitivised as fuck.)

There’s also the fact the ion channels aren’t the only thing being triggered by those substances. Carbon dioxide is sour, and you’re likely to find it in sweet drinks; while capsaicin (remember, same ion channel as ethanol!) is often found in salty and umami foods. I think this sort of association, plus your personal preferences, also have an impact on how you interpret that burn, if pleasing or hurtful.

cheese_greater@lemmy.world on 12 Mar 16:07 collapse

Ive also read carbonation is mediated by the same tastebuds/receptors or something that are responsible for rotting fruit

lvxferre@mander.xyz on 12 Mar 17:09 collapse

It’s probably the TRPA1 ion channel I mentioned. It gets triggered by a lot of things nature “expects” us to avoid, that probably include some component found in rotting fruits.