You love eating spicy food. Whether you are adding extra peppers to your sauces, sandwiches, or other dishes, you love that it can give anything that extra bit of kick that it needs. It can take food from good to great, well, if you are a fan of spice that is. However, you might have noticed that you get warm and sweat when eating something spicy.
You start eating your favorite spicy curry and the next thing you know, you have sweat beads that start to form on your face. The burn is on more than just the tongue. You can feel your temperature start to rise, and you know that before long, you will be truly sweating. Of course, some people seem to have a higher tolerance than others do, but excessive sweating when eating spicy food is rather common. You might be wondering just what it is that causes the heat to rise in your body when you eat your favorite spicy fare.
What Is the Cause?
The heat, and therefore the excessive sweating when eating spicy food, comes from an element known as capsaicin. This is the molecule in the peppers that create the spicy taste. So, how does this all work?
Some of the nerves in the body that are heat sensitive have capsaicin receptors. When you eat something spicy, it is these receptors that “feel” the heat. They send signals to the spinal cord and the brain, alerting them to pain related to the heat. It “tricks” the body into thinking that you are hot. The brain and the spinal cord will then react and try to help the body cool itself. This means sweating, as it is a natural way for the body to keep cool.
In addition to the excessive sweating when eating spicy foods, many people also feel their body, particularly their face, begin to flush. This is due to another reaction in the body caused by the capsaicin. The hypothalamus sends messages to the blood vessels in the skin, telling them to dilate. It is another method the body uses to cool down.
What Can You Do to Stop It?
There is not too much a person can do to control the effects of capsaicin on their body, since is it a natural response. However, it is possible to neutralize the effects somewhat. Many people gravitate toward water, but this is a mistake. Capsaicin is not soluble in water, so it will not provide you with any lasting relief from the pain. The excessive sweating when eating spicy food will not subside.
The simplest way to neutralize the effects is with some milk. It works well to reduce the symptoms of heat and to reduce the sweating. If you love the taste, but you do not like the excessive sweating when eating spicy food, this is an ideal way to take care of the problem.