UpSaltOS

I once walked 2,000 miles from California to Louisiana for 6 months. It's part of the reason why I went into food science (I really had a hard time eating the food I got along the road), and how I ended up meeting my wife. I kind of still think of myself as a wanderer - I feel more at home in the woods and mountains than in cities.

I'm really happy they added "Added sugar" to the label, so that's actually been a boon for me personally. I know this one might be impractical, but it'd be amazing if they could add the amino acid composition, or at least the difference between protein and free amino acids. They have different properties, so it'd be helpful because I'm 100% certain when it says 3 g of protein per serving on my soy sauce bottle, it's not intact proteins.

The work by Paul Rozin from University of Pennsylvania is particularly interesting on this topic:

npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/01/13/376963730/how-do-we-grow-to-like-the-foods-we-once-hated

Basically, it's like why we love rollercoasters or scary movies - because the human brain is super complex and can connect pain with pleasure with enough habituation. He calls it hedonic reversal. It's wild.

Part of the reason is that our bitter receptors get overloaded with stimuli, so the bitterness actually loses its strength. What's leftover is the remaining flavors that shine through. Also, yes, getting drunk is a great way for your brain to get excited about beer.

The combination of lactose and milk fat help reduce the level of capsaicin on the tongue, and its perception. Interestingly enough, I've read some research that suggests sugar actually helps reduce the intensity of spiciness, so anything with sugar and fat is the perfect go-to.