I just read an article about man who ate some peppers and wound up with a torn esophagus. What's an esophagus? That is the muscular tube that connects the throat to the stomach. So, how did this man wind up with a torn esophagus? Here is what the article from Live Science stated. A 'ghost" pepper had been pureed and served on top of a hamburger as part of an eating contest at a local restaurant. The Journal of Emergency Medicine stated that after finishing the pepper-topped burger, the man drank six large glasses of water, then began to violently retch and vomit. The man wound up in the emergency room because he couldn't stop vomiting, and developed severe chest and stomach pain. Upon further examination the man was found to have a 1-inch tear in his esophagus that was leaking food (the hamburger, onions, and other stuff) into the space around his left lung which also caused his lung to collapse. After surgery the man was placed on tube feeding, which is when a tube is inserted in your body directly to your stomach and you are given your nutrition via a liquid solution through the tube because you are not allowed to swallow any food. All I thought was, WTH?
Now, not everyone who eats a pepper will have this violent a reaction to eating peppers, but there is still much caution that needs to be taken when eating hot peppers. First let's take a look at how peppers and their "heat" is rated. The "heat in peppers is rated by Scoville Heat Units. This Scoville scale is named after its creator, an American Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. The higher the Scoville unit, the hotter the pepper. Most of you have probably had some type of pepper in you lifetime. Here is a list of how various peppers are rated:
Bell Peppers 0 Units
Banana peppers, paprika 100-1000 units
Gochujang, pablano 1000 -3500 units
Jalapeno, fresno chili 3,500-10,000 units
Cayenne pepper, tabasco chili 30,000-50,000 units
Scotch bonnet, habanero chili 100,000-350,000 units
Ghost chili, Dragon Chili, Naga Viper pepper 855,000 - 2,200,00 units
If you do happen to eat some hot, spicy food it is highly suggested that you follow up with some type of dairy product--milk, ice cream, yogurt, drink alcohol, chew on bread, pasta or rice, lemon or tomato juice to cool things down. But you really need to KNOW what the heck you are eating before you start. DO NOT drink water or carbonated beverages. Doing this will only spread those capsaicin oils which is what makes the peppers hot. DO NOT drink hot liquids like coffee or tea, and DO NOT touch sensitive areas of your body like your eyes or nose.
After reading an article in www.medialdaily.com I realized that the reactions that happen in your body after eating something too spicy is almost like a protective mechanism that kicks in. The capsaicin in a hot pepper has the ability to latch onto pain receptors and triggers the activation of heat sensitive receptors which sends a message to your brain that makes you feel as though you are too close to a heat source. Hence, the heat is turned on. Once that happens your body's natural reaction to heat is perspiration. Yup, you start sweating. As well as that reaction, many people's mucous glands kick in and you get a runny nose, watery eyes and a watery mouth. If that's not enough, some folks' digestive tract goes into overdrive and starts to have contractions causing vomiting and diarrhea.
I don't know about you, but as much as I like heat in my food and I like that feeling of my nose running, and a sweat bead forming on my forehead, there comes a point, when HOT is too HOT!!! I love things with great flavor, but if it feels like my taste buds are being burned off, what's the point? There are just some things I will not try. Any pepper that has 'ghost', 'dragon', or 'viper' attached to it's name is PROBABLY something I will not be eating. What about you???
SMOOCHES
No comments:
Post a Comment