Why does your mouth feel like it's on fire when you eat a spicy pepper? And how do you soothe the burn? Why does wasabi make your eyes water? And how spicy is the spiciest spice? Let's back up a bit. First, what is spiciness? Even though we often say that something tastes spicy, it's not actually a taste, like sweet or salty or sour. Instead, what's really happening is that certain compounds in spicy foods activate the type of sensory neurons called polymodal nociceptors. You have these all over your body, including your mouth and nose, and they're the same receptors that are activated by extreme heat. So, when you eat a chili pepper, your mouth feels like it's burning because your brain actually thinks it's burning. The opposite happens when you eat something with menthol in it. The cool, minty compound is activating your cold receptors. When these heat-sensitive receptors are activated, your body thinks it's in contact with a dangerous heat source and reacts accordingly. This is why you start to sweat, and your heart starts beating faster. The peppers have elicited the same fight-or-flight response with which your body reacts to most threats. But you may have noticed that not all spicy foods are spicy in the same way. And the difference lies in the types of compounds involved. The capsaicin and piperine, found in black pepper and chili peppers, are made up of larger, heavier molecules called alkylamides, and those mostly stay in your mouth. Mustard, horseradish, and wasabi are made up of smaller molecules, called isothiocyanates, that easily float up into your sinuses. This is why chili peppers burn your mouth, and wasabi burns your nose. The standard measure of a food's spiciness is its rating on the Scoville scale, which measures how much its capsaicin content can be diluted before the heat is no longer detectable to humans. A sweet bell pepper gets 0 Scoville heat units, while Tabasco sauce clocks in between 1,200-2,400 units. The race to create the hottest pepper is a constant battle, but two peppers generally come out on top: The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and the Carolina Reaper. These peppers measure between 1.5 and 2 million Scoville heat units, which is about half the units found in pepper spray. So, why would anyone want to eat something that causes such high levels of pain? Nobody really knows when or why humans started eating hot peppers. Archaeologists have found spices like mustard along with human artifacts dating as far back as 23,000 years ago. But they don't know whether the spices were used for food or medication or just decoration. More recently, a 6,000 year old crockpot, lined with charred fish and meat, also contained mustard. One theory says that humans starting adding spices to food to kill off bacteria. And some studies show that spice developed mostly in warmer climates where microbes also happen to be more prevalent. But why we continue to subject ourselves to spicy food today is still a bit of a mystery. For some people, eating spicy food is like riding rollercoasters; they enjoy the ensuing thrill, even if the immediate sensation is unpleasant. Some studies have even shown that those who like to eat hot stuff are more likely to enjoy other adrenaline-rich activities, like gambling. The taste for spicy food may even be genetic. And if you're thinking about training a bit, to up your tolerance for spice, know this: According to some studies, the pain doesn't get any better. You just get tougher. In fact, researchers have found that people who like to eat spicy foods don't rate the burn any less painful than those who don't. They just seem to like the pain more. So, torment your heat receptors all you want, but remember, when it comes to spicy food, you're going to get burned.
Zašto imate osećaj vatre u ustima kada jedete ljutu papriku? I kako smiriti požar? Zašto vam suze oči od vasabi sosa? I koliko je ljut najpikantniji začin? Sačekajmo na trenutak. Prvo, šta je pikantnost? Iako često kažemo da je nešto pikantno, to zapravo nije ukus, kao slatko, slano ili kiselo. Zapravo se dešava da određeni sastojci začinjene hrane aktiviraju čulne neurone koji se nazivaju polimodalnim nociceptorima. Imate ih po celom telu, uključujući usta i nos, i to su isti receptori koje aktivira ekstremna toplota. Tako kada jedete čili papričicu, vama gori u ustima jer mozak smatra da je zaista tako. Suprotno se dešava kada jedete nešto sa mentom u sastavu. Hladno jedinjenje sa ukusom mente aktivira vaše receptore za hladnoću. Kada se senzori za toplotu aktiviraju, vaše telo misli da je u kontaktu sa opasnim izvorom toplote i odgovarajuće reaguje. To je razlog zašto se znojite, i srce brže počinje da lupa. Papričice su izazvale isti "beži ili se bori" osećaj kao kada ste fizički ugroženi. Ali možda ste primetili da nije sva pikantna hrana ljuta na isti način. Raznolikost leži u jedinjenjima koja su uključena. Kapsaicin i piperin, u crnom biberu i čili papričicama, sačinjeni su od većih i težih molekula zvanih alkilamidi i oni uglavnom ostaju u ustima. Senf, ren i vasabi sos sačinjeni su od manjih molekula, zvanih izotiocijanati koji lako odu do vaših sinusa. Zato vas od čili papričica peče u ustima, a od vasabija gori u nosu. Standardna mera za ljutinu hrane označava se Skovilovom skalom, koja pokazuje koliko se kapsicin iz neke hrane može razblažiti do tačke kada čovek više ne registruje toplotu. Paprika babura dobija 0 Skovilove toplotne jedinice, dok Tabasko sos broji između 1200 i 2400 jedinica. Trka za najljuću papriku je stalna bitka, ali dve papričice se uglavnom ističu na vrhu: Moruga Škorpija sa Trinidada i Sekač iz Karoline. Ove papričice mere između 1,5 i 2 miliona Skovilovih toplotnih jedinica, što je polovina jedinica u suzavcu. Dakle, zašto bi bilo ko pojeo nešto što izaziva tako visok nivo bola? Niko zaista ne zna kada ni kako su ljudi počeli da jedu ljute papričice. Arheolozi su pronašli začin nalik senfu zajedno sa predmetima iz vremena od pre 23 000 godina. Ali ne zna se da li su predmeti korišćeni za ishranu, lečenje ili samo za ukras. Bliže nama, lonac star 6 000 godina pronađen je zajedno sa ugljenisanom ribom, mesom i senfom. Jedna teorija kaže da ljudi počinju da dodaju začine hrani da ubiju bakterije. Dok neka istraživanja pokazuju da su se začini razvili pretežno u pojasima toplijih klima gde su više zastupljeni mikrobi. Ali zbog čega se podvrgavamo začinjenoj hrani i danas i dalje je misterija. Nekim ljudima, ljuta hrana je kao vožnja toboganom, uživaju u uzbuđenju koje pruža, iako im je trenutni doživljaj neprijatan. Neka istraživanja čak pokazuju da oni koji vole da jedu ljuto više uživaju u drugim adrenalinskim aktivnostima, kao kockanju. Sklonost ka ljutoj hrani može čak biti i genetska. I ako mislite da se u tome uvežbate, i povećate prag tolerancije za ljuto, znajte ovo: prema nekim istraživanjima, bol se ne ublažava. Već samo očvrsnete. I zapravo, istraživanja pokazuju da ljudi koji jedu ljutu hranu ne označavaju bol manjom nego oni koji ne jedu. Jednostavno im se više sviđa bol. Stoga, mučite svoje receptore toplote koliko god želite, ali upamtite, kada je ljuta hrana u pitanju, opeći ćete se.