Podcast: Play in new window
BOB HIRSHON (host):
Bittersweet science…I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
If you swallow something bitter, like a pill, something sweet can make the nasty taste go away.
GARY BEAUCHAMP (Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia):
One of the ways to get the bitter compound out of the mouth is to overwhelm it cognitively. You get a strong sweetness signal, and that seems to, in the brain, cause a reduction in bitterness.
HIRSHON:
That’s biologist Gary Beauchamp of the Monell Chemical Senses Center. He says salt can also combat bitterness, not in the brain, but by blocking taste receptors right on the tongue.
BEAUCHAMP:
If you take a bitter compound and mix it with salt, you get a suppression of the bitterness; if you take the bitter and put it on one side, there is no suppression.
HIRSHON:
Salt and sweet together can be even more effective, which could explain the popularity of trendy sea salt-infused chocolate bars. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.