Why Do Spicy Things Feel Hot and Minty Things Feel Cold?
In 2013, the Guiness Book of World Records declared the Carolina Reaper the world’s hottest pepper, with a rating of 1.4-2.2 million Scoville heat units, which measure the concentration of the chemicals that make pepper spicy, including capsacin.
Are you interested in trying one?
I am not. That does not sound fun at all. It sounds like it will burn my face off, but I know some people like that sort of thing.
Why does it feel like your mouth is burning when you eat spicy food, even if the food itself doesn’t have a high temperature?
(Chili peppers, not Carolina reapers)
Your nerves are sending confusing signals to your brain, and that’s what makes your face red, body sweat, and mouth burn.
Your body has many different kids of sensory nerve receptors, or cells that take sensations and send the information to the brain. One kind of receptor is a pain receptor that reacts to pinches, cuts, or extreme temperatures. Another kind of receptor responds to mild increases in temperature, like a sitting down in a warm bath.
Capsacin activates both types of receptors! When you bite into something spicy, your brain receives two different signals: “Whoa, extreme temperature! Pain! Maybe sharp things!” and “Nice warm bath.” Your brain combines those two together and ends up interpreting them as something like: “Whoa! Very, very, very warm! Too hot!” As a result, your brain tells your entire body to react in a way that will get you away from the spicy thing (pain) and cool off (sweating, flushing).
Menthol (the chemical that makes foods, like mint, minty) works in a similar way, except instead of stimulating the warm-bath receptors, they stimulate the put-on-a-sweatshirt receptors. Your brain takes the combination of extreme temperature and mild cold stimuli and turns them into an extreme cold sensation.
Somehow, that makes me even less interested in trying a Carolina Reaper pepper.
If you want to give it a try (paid link), you can let me know how it goes by commenting below or emailing me at robinsatty@stemsmartconsulting.com
Sources:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-it-that-eating-spi/