WEBVTT - How Does Saliva Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey, rain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Laura wollabo'm here. Saliva It's not the kind of thing

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<v Speaker 1>that comes to mind often. Sure, you might notice it

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<v Speaker 1>when you smell the smoke coming off of barbecue, or

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<v Speaker 1>the lack of it when you're about to give a presentation,

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<v Speaker 1>but a seemingly inconsequential thing like spit actually plays an

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<v Speaker 1>important role in our health and in the way that

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<v Speaker 1>our food tastes. Saliva is ninety nine percent water. The

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<v Speaker 1>remaining one percent is made up of well lots of stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>including digestive enzymes, uric acid, electrolytes, mucous forming proteins, and cholesterol.

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<v Speaker 1>It's also home to more than seven hundred types of microbes,

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<v Speaker 1>including bacteria and fungi. The actual makeup of our spit

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<v Speaker 1>varies from person to person, and each person's saliva fluctuates

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<v Speaker 1>due to factors like age, hormonal influences, and various stimuli.

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<v Speaker 1>As is the case with mucus, our bodies are constantly

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<v Speaker 1>producing saliva. Throughout the course of a day, your body

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<v Speaker 1>churns out about two to four pints of it. That's

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<v Speaker 1>one to two liters. Most of that sliva production occurs

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<v Speaker 1>in the afternoon and tapers off at night when we

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<v Speaker 1>tuck into bed. We don't completely stop salivating when we sleep,

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<v Speaker 1>which explains why some side or belly sleepers wake to

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<v Speaker 1>discover that they've drooled on their pillow. Saliva is produced

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<v Speaker 1>in these salivary glands, which are found in the tissues

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<v Speaker 1>of our mouth. These glands are made up of clusters

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<v Speaker 1>of cells that secrete saliva through a series of collecting

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<v Speaker 1>ducks out into the mouth. There are three major pairs

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<v Speaker 1>of salivary glands. The parotid glands are the largest. They're

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<v Speaker 1>located on both sides of your face in front of

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<v Speaker 1>your ears. Each one produces about ten percent of your

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<v Speaker 1>mouth saliva. The submandipular glands are the second largest. They're

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<v Speaker 1>located under the jawbone, and the smallest are the sublingual glands.

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<v Speaker 1>These almond shaped glands lie on the floor of the mouth,

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<v Speaker 1>underneath the tongue. There are also smaller clusters of salivary

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<v Speaker 1>glands in your upper digestive tract and esophagus. These secrete

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<v Speaker 1>sliva with special enzymes that aid in digestion before the article.

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<v Speaker 1>This episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke via

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<v Speaker 1>email with Guy Carpenter, a professor of oral biology and

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<v Speaker 1>an oral physiologist at King's College in London. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>saliva's rolls cover all the functions of the mouth you

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<v Speaker 1>can think of, including taste, chew, swallows, smell, but aerosol generation,

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<v Speaker 1>a maintenance of mucosal tissue, lubrication of fats, a maintenance

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<v Speaker 1>of oral microbiome, speech, et cetera. That's a mouthful, so

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<v Speaker 1>let's break it down and discuss some of the important

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<v Speaker 1>functions that saliva carries out in our bodies. First off, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>saliva helps you taste food. Your taste buds get all

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<v Speaker 1>the credit, but they'd be practically worthless if not for saliva.

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<v Speaker 1>It's difficult for our taste buds, which lie in deep

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<v Speaker 1>channels across our tongues, to assess dry lumpy aroma compounds

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<v Speaker 1>without saliva. If you're skeptical, you can try this. Dab

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<v Speaker 1>your tongue dry, then place one lump each of rock

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<v Speaker 1>salt and rock sugar on your tongue. It'll be next

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<v Speaker 1>to impossible to differentiate between the two lumps without allowing

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<v Speaker 1>a wave of saliva to wash over them. A paper

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<v Speaker 1>published in the journal Annual Review of Food Science and

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<v Speaker 1>Technology in March of twenty twenty two, coined the term

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<v Speaker 1>food oral processing to describe this phenomenon. Basically, we only

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<v Speaker 1>perceive the flavor of foods if they can reach the

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<v Speaker 1>taste buds. To get there, food molecules must pass through

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<v Speaker 1>and be coated with a thin layer of saliva. We

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<v Speaker 1>aren't actually tasting the food itself, but the mixture the

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<v Speaker 1>food and the saliva. But the composition and the rate

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<v Speaker 1>of flow of saliva is different for every person, so

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<v Speaker 1>scientists don't know the exact science of how it affects food. Interestingly,

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<v Speaker 1>researchers have found that people with different salivary flow rates

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<v Speaker 1>or different levels of mucus in their saliva may have

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<v Speaker 1>different flavor experiences of the same foods. For example, in

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<v Speaker 1>a study published in the journal Food Research International in

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<v Speaker 1>December of twenty nineteen, scientists measured sliva levels and participants

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<v Speaker 1>who agreed to evaluate the taste of wine to which

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<v Speaker 1>fruity flavored compounds had been added. Those who produced more

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<v Speaker 1>saliva tended to score the flavors as more intense. The

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<v Speaker 1>researchers surmised that these participants swallowed more often, which forced

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<v Speaker 1>more aromas into their nasal passages, resulting in a more

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<v Speaker 1>intense tasting experience, which brings us to saliva and the nose.

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<v Speaker 1>The saliva can also affect the aroma of the food

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<v Speaker 1>you eat, which is responsible for the vast majority of

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<v Speaker 1>your perception of flavor as you chew. As some flavor

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<v Speaker 1>molecules dissolve in the saliva, those that don't can waft

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<v Speaker 1>into the nasal cavity and be sensed by the perceptors there.

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<v Speaker 1>Saliva also helps prevent you from choking on your food

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<v Speaker 1>as we choose. Sliva joins in and turns dry, crumbly

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<v Speaker 1>food bits into soft, cohesive lumps that are better able

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<v Speaker 1>to slide down our esophagus and continue their way through

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<v Speaker 1>our digestive tract. It also helps protect our esophagus from

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<v Speaker 1>getting damaged by any rough edged food particles, and saliva

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<v Speaker 1>helps you digest your food too. Remember that smaller cluster

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<v Speaker 1>of salivary glands in the upper digestive tract and esophagus.

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<v Speaker 1>They produce a type of saliva containing digestive enzymes. One

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<v Speaker 1>breaks down starch into sugars so your body can absorb

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<v Speaker 1>it more easily. Another helps break down fats These enzymes

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<v Speaker 1>prepare the food you've swallowed for the stomach. Your saliva

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<v Speaker 1>is also saturated with calcium and phosphate ions that help

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<v Speaker 1>protect the enamel surface of your teeth. Without this concentration

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<v Speaker 1>in your saliva, the enamel on your teeth would start

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<v Speaker 1>to erode. This helps explain nursing bottle syndrome, a condition

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<v Speaker 1>in young children who suck on filled bottles or sippy

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<v Speaker 1>cups for prolonged periods of time. The milk or juice

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<v Speaker 1>can sit on the teeth and especially the top teeth,

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<v Speaker 1>which are less protected by saliva, long enough for bacteria

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<v Speaker 1>to start causing cavities. Saliva also protects from tooth decay

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<v Speaker 1>by helping dilute dietary carbohydrates and neutralizing the acids from plaque. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>remember how we said your saliva changes due to different influences.

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<v Speaker 1>Your spit is affected by the body's fight or flight response.

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<v Speaker 1>When you experience high stress or anxiety, your body he

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<v Speaker 1>seeks to conserve energy so that you can fight or flee.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the ways the body does this is by

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<v Speaker 1>shutting down your digestive system. That's why when you're feeling stressed, scared,

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<v Speaker 1>or anxious like when you're about to speak publicly. You

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<v Speaker 1>may notice your mouth feels especially parched, and that's why

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<v Speaker 1>speakers often keep water nearby During speeches, presentations, and other performances.

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<v Speaker 1>It's difficult to speak with a dry mouth. Water can help,

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<v Speaker 1>but having an adequate amount of saliva in the mouth

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<v Speaker 1>lubricates the oral tissues, making it easier to talk smoothly.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article what is the

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<v Speaker 1>liva and how does it change the Taste of food?

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<v Speaker 1>On how stuffworks dot com written by Jennifer Walker. Journey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how

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<v Speaker 1>Stuffworks dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Lang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,

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