Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Are hot peppers good to eat?

I have always found spicy stuff to be good, like probably many others too. But what makes hot peppers so good? First of all, the chemical capsaicin is responsible for the heat. The capsaicin damages certain kinds of cells in the mouth, which sends pain signals to the brain. Eating spicy stuff will cause a tolerance to be developed, allowing the consumer to eat hotter food. This is because the more time is spent eating spicy food, the more the brain blocks the pain signals, which causes a natural painkilling effect. In turn, whoever consumes spicy food may get addicted. According to Wikipedia, hot peppers decrease skin temperature. To anyone who isn't used to eating any hot peppers, mild peppers like the Jalapeno (at least 10,000 scovilles) and especially the Serrano (at least 15,000 scovilles) are incredibly spicy. The chemical causing the heat is Capsaicin. People who handle pure capsaicin need to use gloves and masks. Whoever inhales one drop of it would rather be dead. The Scoville heat scale measures how many drops of water are required to dilute one drop of a given hot extract.  However, some chemicals are far stronger than Capsaicin. The strongest is found in a certain species of cactus and is named Resiniferatoxin. It rates at an unbelievable 9,000,000,000 scoville units, which makes capsaicin pale in comparison. Consumption causes desensitization. The pain caused by it is so extreme that it destroys neurons by overworking themselves. In effect, the pain leads to lifelong numbness, which is why it's used as a painkiller.
I want to talk about chocolate, since it's related. The reason is, chocolate contains a substance called theobromine, which increases the amount of capsaicin needed to induce coughing. Theobromine is most concentrated in dark chocolate. Too much can cause problems for people. However, this may indicate that chocolate is good for relieving heat.

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