WEBVTT - Why Is Sweet and Salty Such a Tasty Combo?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Laurina vogel Bomb Here. Think about salted caramel ice

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<v Speaker 1>cream with chunks of pretzels in it, kettle corn melon

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<v Speaker 1>wrapped with perscuto, or dates stuffed with cheese, or pineapple

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<v Speaker 1>fried rice, or the classic combo French fries dipped in

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<v Speaker 1>a milkshake. If you're like me, this is making you

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<v Speaker 1>very hungry. The marriage of salty and sweet is one

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<v Speaker 1>that feels like it shouldn't work, and for some people

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't, but for others, it magically and deliciously does.

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<v Speaker 1>We can't get enough of it. Too much sugar is

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<v Speaker 1>overly intense, and too much salt is rinse your mouth

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<v Speaker 1>out puckering. But when you mix the two, the combination

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<v Speaker 1>is heavenly. So what's the science behind this phenomenon? First,

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about how our sense of taste works. We

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<v Speaker 1>have five primary types of taste receptors in our mouth

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<v Speaker 1>and nose, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory or umami. Umami,

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<v Speaker 1>by the way, comes into our lexicon from Japanese. It

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<v Speaker 1>was coined by the chemist who first isolated MSG or

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<v Speaker 1>monosodium glutamate in nineteen oh eight. He wanted to sell

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<v Speaker 1>MSG as a food supplement that could make bland but

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<v Speaker 1>nutritious food more appealing, so he derived the word umami

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<v Speaker 1>from a colloquial word for tasty. So yes, umami is

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<v Speaker 1>a Japanese marketing term from the nineteen ox Anyway, a

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<v Speaker 1>contrary to what you probably learned in elementary school, each

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<v Speaker 1>taste bud on your tongue can sense all of these flavors,

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<v Speaker 1>and other nerve endings around your mouth and nose can

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<v Speaker 1>as well. Our bodies evolved with taste receptors for good reasons.

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<v Speaker 1>We detect sweetness in order to help fuel our bodies

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<v Speaker 1>with carbohydrates. We taste bitter to hypothetically protect our bodies

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<v Speaker 1>from something potentially damaging, though lots of us decided that

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<v Speaker 1>we dig the mild danger there, and we take salt

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<v Speaker 1>to provide our bodies with a necessary nutrient. Now you've

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<v Speaker 1>probably heard that you're supposed to watch your salt intakee

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<v Speaker 1>and if you eat a lot of processed or pre

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<v Speaker 1>made foods, you probably should. But the sodium in salt

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<v Speaker 1>is necessary for a few of our bodily functions. It

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<v Speaker 1>helps your cells and organs maintain their proper fluid balance.

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<v Speaker 1>It's used in the contraction and relaxation of your muscles fibers,

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<v Speaker 1>including you know your heart, and it transmits nerve impulses.

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<v Speaker 1>You need some sodium in your diet, and since sodium

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<v Speaker 1>molecules are fickle, the best way for us to get

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<v Speaker 1>it is via salt. And salt isn't just a nutrient either,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a flavor enhancer. So it stands to reason that

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<v Speaker 1>if you mix sugar and salt, the salt will enhance

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<v Speaker 1>the sugar flavor. A chef's and flavor scientists call this

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<v Speaker 1>flavor layering, and the right mix, not too sweet not

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<v Speaker 1>too salty, gives your brain a positive biological response. Part

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<v Speaker 1>of this positive response can be chalked up to a

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<v Speaker 1>set of experiences called sensory specific desire and sensory specific satiety. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>because humans are omnivores, and because there are a number

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<v Speaker 1>of nutrients that our bodies need that we cannot make

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves and thus need to consume through food, we are

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<v Speaker 1>wired to desire a variety of foods and tastes. A

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<v Speaker 1>meaning will eventually tire of the same taste over and

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<v Speaker 1>over again. So if you gorge yourself with sweets, and

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<v Speaker 1>only sweets, you'll stop wanting more after a while, and

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<v Speaker 1>the same goes for salty, you'll satiate yourself on that flavor. Conversely,

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<v Speaker 1>studies have shown that eating a bunch of sweet stuff

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<v Speaker 1>can make you crave different flavors like salty or spicy,

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<v Speaker 1>and eating a bunch of salty stuff can make you

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<v Speaker 1>crave sour or sweet. So when you layer flavors, you're

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<v Speaker 1>scratching more than one itch at once. Your brain is

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<v Speaker 1>left us bored or overwhelmed by any single flavor, so

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<v Speaker 1>the combination is more craveable. Food scientists use this in

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<v Speaker 1>the creation of packaged snacks to make us want to

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<v Speaker 1>keep eating. It works with textures too. Treats are nice,

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<v Speaker 1>just watch your portion sizes. The positive side of this

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<v Speaker 1>slightly sinister food design trick is that when you're done

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<v Speaker 1>with a snack that involves a salty sweet flavor duo,

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<v Speaker 1>you might be less tempted to reach for another different

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<v Speaker 1>flavored food. Today's episode is based on the article why

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<v Speaker 1>do sweet and salty taste so good together? On HowStuffWorks

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<v Speaker 1>dot com, Written by Deborah Ronca, with additional material from

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<v Speaker 1>my other podcast saver. Brain Stuff is production of by

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and

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<v Speaker 1>is produced by Tyler Klang. But for more podcasts my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows. M