Apparently, spiciness comes from a chemical called capsaicin found in chili peppers. Three things happen when we consume this chemical: pain receptors in our mouth are activated, our bodies heat up, and our metabolism increases. Our bodies are tricked into thinking that we are hot, so we start sweating and turning red. The more capsaicin we eat during a meal, the hotter our bodies believe we are. The effects of capsaicin keep increasing as we eat spicy foods. More pain receptors are activated and that leads to wanting a drink.
Why is drinking milk better than other drinks at calming the effects of spiciness? Many people drink water but find that it does not help. This is because spiciness is oil based, and oil and water don't mix. The spicy oil stays in your mouth, repelling the water trying to wash it down your throat. Milk has a protein called casein that pulls the capsaicin away from the pain receptors in your mouth. The milk essentially washes away the pain so you can continue on with your meal. Other dairy products such as yogurt and ice cream also help. Here is a web page with some other ways to Cool Burns from Chili Peppers.
Whether your tolerance is low or high on the range of spiciness, just eat, be happy, and share how you deal with spicy foods.
I found your post on the science behind spice to be especially informative. As an Indian, most of our food dishes are incredibly spicy; so much so that yogurt is a staple with any meal. It is interesting to see how the chemical build up of foods, such as spices, has molded traditions in certain cultures. What I found out recently that may also be interesting is that spice kills taste buds on the tongue. This is how a person’s tolerance to spice may be high: they simply cannot taste the spice anymore! As I’ve grown up eating spicy foods, my ability to taste spice has greatly decreased, leading to my high tolerance. So for those people who are looking to be major spice eaters, keep on killing those taste buds!
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to know the science behind the spiciness of food and your post explains it very well! I'm personally a huge fan of spicy foods even though sometimes my body suffers terribly from it. There's something about eating spicy food that places other types of food as secondary. One food that's helped me greatly increase my tolerance for spicy foods is a common traditional Korean side dish called kimchi, which uses red chili pepper flakes as a main spice ingredient. Similar to the previous commenter, eating spicy foods growing up has greatly increased my tolerance. That's probably why my friends always drink several cups of water while I sip none whenever we go out to eat spicy foods... Hope you can gradually enjoy the taste of spicy foods!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Thailand and grew up eating their food, which is famed for their spiciness as well, so you can imagine that I really enjoy spicy food and found this post really interesting regarding the science behind that. Its funny how spiciness lovers like me are enjoying our pain receptors being triggered. Another interesting way to subdue spice is as your link has mentioned, sugar. The sweetness subdues the spice but does not take it away, but creates a whole new kind of taste, a common sensation in Thai dishes.
ReplyDeleteI knew drinking milk when eating spicy foods would help since it's a base, but I never knew the science behind it. I wish we could've focused on food chemical reactions in all the chemistry classes I've taken instead.
ReplyDeleteI found the part about receptors to be particularly interesting. It's pretty amazing how our bodies work and how it can even fool itself sometimes. Personally, I didn't grow up with spicy food and thus, have a low tolerance. It hasn't stopped me from eating certain foods. As long as I have a drink (preferrably a base like milk), I'm good to go.