Spicy Food Sensation

name        amandeep
status       student
grade        4-5
location     N/A

Question -   I would like to know about spicy foods.How and why
do they casue a burn sensation, can you train to eat more spicy
food over time? What is the best drink to have if your tongue is on fire?
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Amandeep,

The reason certain foods are spicy is mainly do to a molecule called
capsaicin.  Capsaicin is the main compound in chile peppers that give them
their spice and is found in many hot sauces as well.  Capsaicin is an
irritant, which is what causes the burning feeling.  I suppose you could
develop a tolerance for very spicy foods, but I would imagine that it would
depend on how sensitive you are to capsaicin and what your pain threshold
is.

In order to reduce the burning sensation, eat fatty foods such as buttered
toast.  Capsaicin is not soluble in water, so drinking water won't help to
reduce the burning sensation after you stop drinking.  Capsaicin is very
soluble in pure alcohol, so drinking certain high alcohol content beers,
like pale ales, or wine should help a little be more than plain water.  Even
better yet, mouth wash is usually about 20% alcohol, which is much higher
than all beer and wines.  Rinsing with this may be your best and quickest
bet.

Matt Voss
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Ok.... good question. Your tongue is made up of a series of [we'll call]
sensors,. These respond to different taste sensations,...sweet, sour and so
on,...... Well certain foods have chemicals which cause a over stimulation
of a certain group of these sensors. Every one has a different level or
trigger point, some chiefs are very sensitive to the smallest variation in
taste.
 So now let's say you just consumed so real hot stuff , and your mouth is on
fire. Well unlike a fire the best way to reduce the fire in your mouth is to
drink milk.

So there you go. Now you have to think why milk is better then water in this
case.

Prof. Przekop, Physicist
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