Why do sour patch kids hurt

What are they? I thought they had trademarked it but mebbe not. They are wicked sour, I love them so. Sour Patch Kids tear my mouth up. Why hast sugar forsaken me? I ate a little bag of Sour Patch Kids yesterday. Will … will they hurt me? They sound more threatening than Sour Patch Kids! Acid, man. What the hell happened there?

You are just old. But damn are they ever tasty! I love it! And yes they are ever so tasty… which leads me to a confession. You know how I said it was one of those little packages? Because I was on a diet and all? I lied. It was one of those big, bulk packages. Reports began circling in that kids were suffering from burned tongues from eating too many sour candies via Vice.

That's certainly a little more concerning than a mere cavity. So why exactly can sour candy leave our tongues with a burning sensation?

Whether it's that box of Sour Patch Kids you overpaid for at the movie theater concession stand, or a single Warhead candy you popped in your mouth on a dare, all sour candy has similar components that add to its sourness.

Basically, it's acid that makes sour candy sour. You'll find citric acid naturally in fruits like lemons, limes, and grapefruits, and the hydrogen ions in the acid tap directly into our "tongue's sour taste receptors" via Wired. Bacterial tooth decay occurs when bacteria, which thrive on the sugar in candy, create acid that attacks the tooth. Sour candies contain both sugar and acid, and tend to stick to teeth, making them a triple threat.

The aforementioned study found candy like X-treme Airheads pH 3. To add another piece to the pH puzzle, vinegar has a pH of around 4. One reason is sugar. The presence of sweet suppresses the sour, and your perception is altered. Still, a pH level of 2. The longer you hold the candies in your mouth, or the more you eat, the more your tongue will hurt.

This is because the acid from the candy lowers the pH level of your mouth, and if it stays low for a prolonged amount of time it acidifies the epithelium, the layer of cells covering your mouth and tongue. When you consume a large amount of sour candy in one sitting, the epithelium becomes irritated to such an extent that the pH-sensitive nerve fibers activate.