system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What gives you that cool sensation when breathing after consuming a mint? And why can't we just rub it all over our bodies during the summer?
gpt
There is a protein called TRPM8 that changes shape based on temperature and is used in cold-sensing nerve cells. Menthol, the chemical inside the mints, somehow binds to TRPM8 and activates it as well, creating the sensation of cold.

We could rub it all over our bodies in the summer but there would probably be absorption issues and it would put people in increased danger of heat stroke.