system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 How come eating/drinking minty things makes water and air so much colder?
gpt
The reason is that menthol (the minty ingredient) sensitises the nerve fibres that signal 'cold' sensation in the mouth (TRPM8 ion channels). So when you breathe in, the air 'feels' colder than normal because the nerve fibres respond more strongly at that temperature than they would normally. This hypersensitivity fools the brain into thinking your mouth is colder than it really is. In terms of cold water, it already has a cooling effect on your mouth, and the menthol amplifies this feeling (notice that hot water doesn't have this effect).

edit: typo menthol*