"A question a day keeps the stupidity away"

March 10, 2010

Veda #67 : Hot and Spicy

Day 67
"If we eat hot and spicy food, why should we drink warm water to neutralize it?"

Have you eat spicy food, with chilli, and after that meal, you feel your tongue was hot and feel like being pinched? that's the effect of the spices and chilli. And then we feel it's best to drink cold water to ease the hotness. But did you know that to reduce the hotness in our mouth, it's best to drink hot or warm water?

So, the chilli contain a compound called Capsain, that produce hot effect to our tongue's receptor nerve. Whenever we try to relieve it by drinking ice cold water, the cool sensation that received by tongue send an information to our brain, and the brain inform the body especially tongue to "fight back" the cold effect by produce heat. that'll only makes us feel hotter.

So, we better drink warm water, because when we drink it, the tongue send an information about heat and reducing the hotness effect of the chilli. Let's say in simple way, by drinking warm water, we try to trick our brain to feel the hotness of water than the chilli that have a long effect of hotness. So the hot feeling will decrease faster.

But, if you prefer more tasty way, you could drink milk or yoghurt to relieve it, because the milk and yoghurt had a compound named Casein, this will neutralize the effect of Capsain.

2 comments:

emmy said...

cold or hot milk-yoghurt btw? hehehe..

angsiaufang said...

secara teori.. iya tau.. mik air anget lbh cepet.. tp maknyuuss detik2 pertamane loooo... >.< maleseeee....