Pretty much everything about food is awesome, but smell and taste tend to be the best parts. These two aspects of enjoying a meal are inextricably linked—the only reason you can taste your food is because while you are chewing bits and pieces of food are getting shuttled from the back of your mouth to your nasal cavity.Yet this movement has long puzzled researchers, who were left scratching their heads as to why airflow didn't direct these food particles in the other direction. It was as if we just got really lucky that our food just never happened to ride the airflow away from the nasal cavity and into the lungs, something which could result in what is generally considered the worst part of food: Choking on it and dying.Recently, a team of researchers from Penn State utilized 3D printing to come up with an explanation to this conundrum. Led by Rui Ni, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, the team used CT scans of the human airway from the nostrils to the trachea to 3D print a model of the airway. The team then used the model to test airflow into and out of the airway. The results of their research were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month."During quiet breathing, there is no valve that can control the direction of volatile transport," said Ni in a statement. "However, something must be controlling the movement of these particles and keeping them out of the lungs."As the team discovered, this 'something' turns out to be a curtain of air that is formed when you breathe in through your nose while chewing, preventing food volatiles from escaping from the back of your mouth into your lungs. Then, when you exhale, these food volatiles are swept into your nasal cavity where they are sensed by olfactory cells, allowing you to enjoy the smell of your food.Since the movement of the food particles into the nasal cavity is affected by the rate of your breathing, Ni recommends slowing down while you eat for maximum effect."Smooth, relatively slow breathing maximizes delivery of the particles to the nose," said Ni. "Food smells and tastes better if you take your time."
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