system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why does your mouth get all cold when you drink water after eating a mint?
gpt
Because chemicals in the mint change the behaviour of the proteins in your mouth that sense cold. These proteins/ion channels (primarily one called TRPM8) normally are activated when you mouth gets down to around 12 degrees. However, methnol directly activates these channels, causing your mouth to seem cold. It also makes the channels more sensitive to cold, meaning that they open at warmer temperatures than normal.

This is also exactly what happens with chillis/capsaicin but just in the other direction. Capsaicin makes heat sensing channels more sensitive to heat, meaning the open at closer to body temperature.