Science Of Spiciness: How Does Spicy Food Affect Our Body?

When we eat something spicy, suddenly our mouth feels like it' on fire, we start sweating and even our nose starts running.
But why is that?

What happens in our body when we eat spicy food, and how does it affect us?


What is spiciness?

"Spiciness" is actually not a real taste like sweet, sour, salty or bitter. But still, we can definitely tell when something tastes spicy.
When we eat something spicy, the compounds activate neurons called "Polymodal Nociceptors".
These sensory neurons can be found almost everywhere on your body - and in your mouth and nose as well.

Why do we react to spiciness the way we do?

What's interesting about them is that they're actually the same receptors that get activated by heat.
So when we eat something spicy, our brain receives the same signal as if our mouth was in contact with high heat - that's why we feel our mouth burning, and also why the word "hot" is a synonym for "spicy".
And our body really reacts as if it was exposed to a threat, and triggers a fight-or-flight reaction.
That means: your heart beats faster, and you start to sweat!

Fun Fact: The reverse effect actually happens when we eat something that contains menthol. Our body is tricked into thinking we just ate something cool, which is why we can feel the cooling effect in our mouth.

Are there differences in spicy foods?

But there isn't just one kind of spiciness. Pepper, Mustard, Chili, Wasabi, Horseradish or Curry are all spicy, but certainly not similar.
And that's also why we might experience spiciness in a different way - sometimes more like a burning in our mouth, or an irritation in our nose.
That's because different foods have different compounds that make them spicy.
Black Pepper and Chilli are made up of molecules that are called "Alkylamides" - they are large and heavy.
Wasabi, Mustard and Horseradish on the other hand contain much smaller molecules (Isothiocyanates).
While the heavy molecules of black pepper and chilli stay in your mouth and make your tongue feel like it's burning, the smaller ones contained in wasabi mustard and horseradish travel up into your sinuses and make your nose "burn".

How is spicyness measured?

Spicyness is ranked on the so-called Scoville Scale. This scale measures how much the capsaicin content (= the natural essence in spicy foods) can be watered down before the heat has gotten so weak that it's no longer detectable.

A normal bell paper is ranked with 0 Scolville heat units, while Tabasco has 1200-2400.
And what is the hottest pepper in the world?
That's a fight between 2 different types - the Carolina Reaper and the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion.
These are incredibly spicy - they have a ranking of 1.5 and 2 Million Scolville!

That's 50% of the spiciness of PEPPERSPRAY!


Why do we eat such spicy foods?

Researchers aren't entirely sure yet when, where or why humans started consuming spicy foods like peppers.
Historical evidence has shown that spicy mustard was found together with human remains in graves 23,000 years ago - but it's unsure whether these spices were used as food or medication.
Studies suggest that people started adding spices to their food to kill bacteria, and also that spices were mostly used in warm areas of the world where microbes often appear.
But why are we still eating spicy foods today?
That remains a mystery - some people enjoy spicy food because of the thrill that comes with it, similar to a rollercoaster.
And a preference for spicy food might actually be genetic!
What's interesting is also that people who eat spicy foods regularly don't feel less pain - they just developed a higher tolerance to it.


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This looks like some spun content given all the other places this exact article topic pops up, using the same images and very similar wording and structure:

http://lifestyle.ynaija.com/whos-hotter-the-science-of-spicy-foods/
http://cbw.ge/technology/foodpanda-spic-science-facts/
https://musingsofaselfproclaimedafricanprincess.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/do-you-like-it-hot/

This is very disappointing. He is such an esteemed member of the community! Why do this, @sirwinchester?? :(

well, I wanted to use infographics - and if you try to google "spiciness infographic" it's mostly these that pop up. also the images have been cited so that's not a problem.
All my articles are written by myself, and if the content is similar, that's just because the topic only offers so much to talk about.
of course someone who wants to write about spiciness would mention similar aspects like how your body reacts and how spiciness is measured, simply because that's what's interesting about this topic.
I didn't even get inspired to do this by an article, but by a video.

If I were to write only about stuff that nobody has ever written before, I would only post fiction stories or personal stuff.
But I also like to share topics that interest me or even stuff that I found on the internet with my steemit audience, because I think it might interest them too.

But thank you for your attention and time to point it out!

You are right that everything we write about has been inspired by someone. Even fiction is inspired and based by someone else's information.
But that does not mean that someone has to just spun some content with zero of personal input. It may pass when you are new to Steemit. I, myself did some few lazy posts 4 months ago when I joined this platform. I had no clue what it is about.
But for someone who has been actively posting here for months and has earned tens of thousadns of dollars from this platform, should know it better. This is not an excuse, in my opinion.
90% of this article comes from here:
http://lifestyle.ynaija.com/whos-hotter-the-science-of-spicy-foods/
Exactly the same structure of sentences of simiar wording (synonyms used in parts). The only different is that you have mixed sections of original article).
The remaining 10% about menthol comes from here:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Y2nACAAAQBAJ&pg=PT40&lpg=PT40&dq=when+we+eat+something+that+contains+menthol.+Our+body+is+tricked+into+thinking+we+just+ate+something+cool&source=bl&ots=1iPCLskpvn&sig=GOaGGTgxirq5sSyVU0nXD1ZnzVA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1k5yWs4_QAhUkJMAKHWwiAXEQ6AEILDAC#v=snippet&q=contains%20menthol.%20Our%20body%20is%20tricked%20into%20thinking%20we%20just%20ate%20something%20cool&f=false

Epic post! Just a fantastic article. So good I would upvote it 10 times if I could!!! Again, I lack the superlatives to congratulate you and thank you for this outstanding work. Namaste :)

Wow awesome and well put together post @sirwinchester!
I love that you compare them and made the beautifull photo in the begining too!
I followed you for more now!

thank you for the compliment, I appreciate it!

I actually LOVE spicy food! it doesn’t hurt at all for me (of course, those super spicy peppers would be way too much ..)

yes, some people get used to it very easily and actually enjoy the slight burning sensation

very interesting, I didn’t know spicy food had so many effects on our body! thanks for sharing!

glad you enjoyed it!

That’s so cool that spiciness is actually connected to HEAT!

yes I thought that part was especially interesting as well!

I think the spiciness just fits with certain foods, it enhances the flavor!

that's definitely true for certain dishes!

Who would eat something that’s half as hot as pepperspray?! crazy!

that's really incredible, I couldn't imagine trying that (and it's probably dangerous too)

so THAT is why menthol cools our mouth! interesting!!

that's another one of those things everyone experiences but no one knows why!

This post reminds me of the spicy challenge you did with me a few months ago haha was so fun! I just read an article about a man who nearlly died cause he ate something very spicy with the hot Level 1.000.000 !!!!!!

That's my topic haha you know that I looove love spicy food

You forgot to Mention under Benefits, that Curry normally contains a good dose of Garlic, thus making you less susceptible to Vampire attacks! Seriously though, Well researched article, Thank You.

Nice post! Love it!

Great article, thank you! In fact spicy foods can release endorphin of some type that can get you high.

Great post!

interesting info
thx for sharing
upvoted