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.
為什麼你的嘴巴感覺像火燒 當你在吃辣椒的時候? 你又要如何舒緩這種燒灼感? 為什麼山葵會讓你流淚? 而最辣的辣又是多辣呢? 讓我們倒轉一下 首先,什麼是辣? 即使我們常說 這東西嘗起來很辣 這其實並不是一種味道 像甜或鹹或酸那樣 反之,其實真正發生的是 會辣的食物中有某些化合物 活化了某些感覺神經元 我們稱之為多樣性疼痛受器 你的身體裡遍佈這些東西 包括你的嘴巴及鼻子裡都有 而它們也是會被 極熱活化的感覺受器 所以,當你吃辣椒的時候 你的嘴巴感覺像火燒般 因為你的大腦 的確認為是燒起來了 相反的情況則是當你在吃 含薄荷醇的東西的時候 這種清涼、具薄荷味的化合物 會活化你的冷覺受器 當這些對熱敏感的受器被活化時 你的身體認為它正與 一種危險的熱源接觸 並做出相應的反應 這就是為什麼你開始流汗 且你的心臟開始跳得更快 辣椒會引發 戰鬥或逃跑反應 就像你的身體對大部份 威脅的反應一樣 但你可能已經注意到 並非所有的辛辣食物 都是一樣的辣法 而其差別在於是何種 化合物引發的辣 辣椒素及胡椒鹼 可在黑胡椒及辣椒內發現 是由較大較重的分子組成 稱為烷醯胺 而那些分子大多停留在嘴裡 芥末、辣根及山葵 則由小一點的分子組成 稱為異硫氰酸酯 很容易上飄到你的鼻竇中 這就是為什麼辣椒會辣你的嘴 而山葵則辣你的鼻子 食物辛辣度的衡量標準 取決於它在史高維爾指標中的分數 這項指標測量稀釋辣椒素的需要量 直到人類不再嚐到辣度為止 甜椒的史高維爾辣度單位為 0 而塔巴斯科辣椒醬的辣度 則在 1,200-2,400 之間 比賽想要培育出最辣的辣椒 是一場持續許久的戰爭 但一般而言有兩種辣椒拔得頭籌 千里達毒蠍辣椒 及卡羅萊納死神辣椒 這兩種辣椒的辣度 介於150 到 200 萬 史高維爾辣度單位之間 而這大約為催淚瓦斯的一半 所以,為什麼有人會想吃 讓人這麼痛的東西? 沒有人知道從何時起或為什麼 人類開始吃辣椒 考古學家發現辛香料如芥末 與其他人類文物 一併可追溯遠至二萬三千年前 但他們不知道這些辛香料是用做 食品或藥品或僅是裝飾品 時間再近一點 有一個六千年的燉鍋 鍋底沾了一層燒焦的魚及肉 也含有芥末 有一個理論說人類 開始加辛香料入食物 是為了殺菌 而一些研究證明辛香料的利用 大部分是在較暖活的氣候區裡 那裡微生物也恰好更盛行 但為什麼今天我們繼續讓自己 臣服於辛辣食物 至今仍然是個謎 對某些人而言 吃辣的食物 就像坐雲霄飛車一樣 他們享受隨之而來的刺激感 即使這立時的感覺並不愉快 有些研究甚至指出 那些喜歡吃辣的人 更有可能享受其他讓人 腎上腺素分泌旺盛的活動 像是賭博 喜歡吃辣的胃口 甚至可能是遺傳 如果你在想或許可以訓練一下 提高你吃辣的忍受度 請搞清楚: 根據某些研究 疼痛感並不會減輕 你只是變得更能忍受了 事實上,研究者發現 喜歡吃辣的人 給火辣所給的痛覺打的分數 並不少於不吃辣的人 他們只是似乎更喜歡痛苦 所以,盡情地折磨你的熱覺受器吧 但要記住,當談到辛辣的食物 你是引火上身