Fascinating facts about spicy food

Spicy food is addictive

 Chili peppers component is capsaicin and when consumed it causes spicy sensation on the tongue that brain interpret as pain and releases endorphins.

Endorphins interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce pain because they act similarly to drugs such as morphine.

This explains why spicy food is addictive.

Good news are that there is no reason to worry about becoming addicted as you will never have physical withdrawal symptoms.

How to cool your tongue after eating spicy food

Do you remember the experience when you eaten something seriously spicy and didn’t know how to stop the tears that were rolling down your face or the fire in your mouth?

The easiest way to cool down your tongue is by drinking milk or eating ice cream.

Health benefits of spicy foods

Studies show that cultures that eat spicy food have much lower incidence of heart attack and stroke.

Chilli peppers can reduce the damaging effects of bad cholesterol and capsaicin may fight inflammation, which has been flagged as a risk factor for heart issues.

According to the American Association for Cancer Research, capsaicin has the ability to kill some cancer and leukemic cells. One particular spice, turmeric, found in curry powder and some mustard, may slow the spread of cancer and growth of tumors.

The heat of the pepper increases blood flow throughout your body and consequently lowers blood pressure.

Spicy foods boost production of feel-good hormones, such as serotonin. This will help ease depression and stress.

Spicy food increases metabolism and contributing in burning of calories.

Hot and heat

When eating spicy food the impulse passes via trigeminal nerve to the brain and creating painful burning sensation. The same receptors also react to heat, so that when spicy food eaten hot the effect is even more intense.

Masochism or mind over body experience

Scientists still do not quite have a handle on the human preference for spicy food. The best explanation comes from a mechanism called “bening masochism”.

This means enjoying initially negative experiences that the brain falsely interprets as threatening. This realization that the body has been fooled and there is no real danger leads to pleasure derived from “mind over body”.

Tolerance to spicy food

People build tolerance to spicy products and food and what seemed very spicy starts to feel mild.

How to adapt to spicy food

Start small by adding extra black pepper or sprinkling crushed red pepper flakes into your food.

Increase the amount of spice you add gradually.

Ask if possible to serve sauces on the side so you can add to your liking.

Have a little milk container with you at all times simply because you can not carry ice cream around or when at a restaurant ask for a spoonful of sour cream or yogurt to modify the salsa or curry.

Continue to increase the amount of spice in your food as you adjust to each new level.