Can fiery foods injure eaters?

By Bill Sones and Rich Sones, Ph.D.

Published: Thursday, Oct. 21 2004 12:00 a.m. MDT

Summary

Question: How hot can spicy foods get? Could eaters injure themselves in indulging their fiery hot tastes?

Answer: The "heat" is from the chemical capsaicin in the pepper, causing a sensation of pain — especially in the eyes when used in pepper spray — but doing no lasting damage, says Washington State University food research technologist Michael Costello. Temporary reactions might include numbness, heavy sweating, intestinal cramps.

Spicy heat is measured in "Scoville Units," relating to the concentration of capsaicin in the food: Most bell/sweet pepper varieties are in the 0-100 Units range; 2,500-5,000 Units includes jalapeno and mirasol peppers. The habanero pepper has long been ranked as the hottest pepper, averaging 200,000-300,000 Units. The Guinness Book of World Records lists the "Red Savina" cultivar as the hottest of all cultivated habaneros at 577,000 Units, although aficionados rank the Francisca cultivar as even hotter. "It just hasn't been tested by Guinness yet."

Recently however, the Naga Jolokia pepper (capsicum frutescens) of India has been measured to be 50 percent hotter than the hottest habanero, says Costello. As hot as it is, it is a staple in the northeastern region of India where it grows wild. This is the hottest known pepper that one could eat, at about 1,000,000 Scoville Units. "The theoretical limit would be 16,000,000, for pure, concentrated capsaicin. Were you to do that, you wouldn't die, however much you might wish it."

Question: From a Pontiac, Mich., reader: "OK, you want strange? Have you heard of birds that will get on the backs of other birds to go South? I was told this is true but have not been able to find anything to confirm it."

Answer: Migration is an incredibly energy-costly endeavor, and birds are pushed to their limits completing migration successfully, says John Rowden, Columbia researcher and curator of animals at Central Park Zoo. There is no way a bird could accommodate a passenger. It is possible the piggyback migrator notion developed from the fact that some birds will "draft" off others while flying in formation. "By flying close to the side of a leading bird, the drafter will gain some energetic benefit, without negatively affecting the leading bird."

To prove the V-formation energy savings, a French team studied pelicans, who not only fly in "squadron" but also flap in time with their leader, gliding often, as reported by BBC News. The researchers taped heart monitors to the birds' backs and watched the heartbeat rates go down during flights in formation compared with solo flights.

Question: Is it "karat" or "carat" that brings home the gold?

Page:
1
2
Next»

Comments

Can fiery foods injure eaters?

Zuckerberg marries

3 dead, 2 missing on Everest

Facebook stock tumbles