Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Yoland on 13/05/2004 14:20:53
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I know Caffeine is a drug, but what about spices we add to our food?
Or is it the effects it causes in the body that is addictive?
???
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Eating, or even smelling the food we like cause increased secretion of neuroactive substances in the brain, ecpecialy dopamin. Something smmilar is hapening in our body as a reaction to some drugs, i think, LSD, for instance.
There are some indications that people (and animals) are geneticaly programed to like to eat sugar and salty dishes. ( ref:GUYTON/ Textbook of physiology ) However, this could be in the most part consequence of learning that something is a kind of food that feel good to us. Older part of brain, the limbic system is responsible for this type of learning, and also for the emotional responses which follows the smelling or eating of food.
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I dropped some sugar granules onto a spider web last week and was fascinated to watch the spider devour granule after granule.
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I say it`s an experiment !!![:o)]
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Chillis...oh boy !!.....I don't know if they're addictive but I'm sure they could be......there is a certain 'fix' that happens when you eat them eh ?
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I think so. We have a spicy chicken outlet here called Popeye's chicken and the batter is hot. Well, down in New Orleans, we like hot food and the chain took off and the owner is a millionaire.
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Chillis are definitely addicitive. I have a hard time finding anything hot enough up here above the Mason-Dixon line. These people like bland food and bitter coffee. Yuck!
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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Oh boy !!...I do like spicy food but I reckon you're hardcore again John, (like the chocolate !!)...I remember seeing a program which featured a Chilli eating competition....phew !!...made my eyes water !!!!
I love really really strong cheese though !!!!hmmmmm !!
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I like hot stuff, but there is definitly a limit to what I can stand. Jalapenos are it. I worked with a guy once that could eat anything hot and say it was great. Once we were on a business trip together and went to some little barbeque place for dinner. The menu featured mild, med., hot, really hot, and super hot. Royce asked for the super hot, and they brought him a sample that he promptly consumed and said "It's not all that hot.". So, then the guy brought out the "realllllyyyy hooootttt" stuff. Royce put a teaspoon of the stuff in his mouth and rolled it around, then took a drink. With everyone watching expectantly for a full minute or more, he finally croaked out "Thatsss hot!". It turns out it was some sort of capsicum extract from Africa - much hotter than Habanero peppers. Later Royce admitted that was the first time he's ever eaten something so hot that it ruined the rest of his dinner.
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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Phew !!!..that really is a case of the heat being out of the kitchen !!!...I can just barely tolerate a Vindaloo curry, though it's still too hot for me...but have you tried a Pal/Phal curry ?.....it's supposed to be the 'mother' of all hot currys !!....I just can't take it..for me...it completely overpowers flavour.....but big repect to Royce.
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No, I can't take really hot curries. I love Indian food, but they can really overdo the hot for my taste. There is a great Thai restaurant here and I order "medium". If you say "hot" you're gonna suffer!
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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I'm coming over !!....lets eat !!
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I have yet to eat anything Indian that is too hot for me. I eat a lot of Thai and Mexican and those are pretty much the hottest foods on the planet when done correctly. The Mexican place my girlfriend and I go to once a week has salsa so hot that it took us months of eating there before we can tolerate more than a few chips' worth. (and I'm a guy that slathers hot sauce on EVERYTHING)
I've recall that spicy foods can cause an endorphin or dopemine release (not which one or what the difference even is) quite like that a runner gets. I don't know that I would call it addictive in the formal sense, but there's usually a definate mental drive to achieve that enjoyable feeling again.
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Jay.....I would not want to get stuck in a lift with you AFTER you had had a 'heat feast' !! (https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Finstagiber.net%2Fsmiliesdotcom%2Fotn%2Fparty%2Fbeerchug.gif&hash=c96989930343f11464d5787875d377d8)
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quote:
Originally posted by neilep
I'm coming over !!....lets eat !!
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I'm smoking two slabs of ribs today. Come on over!
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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John....you have no idea how tasty that sounds right now !!!!...I'm wetting myself with saliva here.....almost to the point where I'll have to call Sea rescue etc !!!
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quote:
Originally posted by neilep
Jay.....I would not want to get stuck in a lift with you AFTER you had had a 'heat feast' !!
On the plane back from Vegas Steve and I were stuck behind some guy who must have been eating REALLY hot food. Unfortunately for me, I have an extremely good sense of smell (ugh!).
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What smells bad about someone who eats hot food? Spicy food doesn't, by itself, make extra gas. Beans (and a few other things) do that, but not the spices.
You know you really notched up the heat when it burns more coming out than it did going in! [:D]
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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Blazing Saddles !!!....faaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrttttttt !!
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Interestingly, the humble chicken is insensitive to the effects of capsaicin, the agent that makes chilli hot, so they can eat the hottest curry you would care to cook for them, with impunity :
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/html/shows/2002.02.17.htm
I fed a chicken curry once and it lost consciousness. I took it to the vet who said it had slipped into a korma
And chilli can blunt your taste buds if taken too frequently, according to scientists in California :
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/html/shows/2002/06.16.htm
For some background on how chilli produces the burning effect check out this article :
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/dalyacolumn5.htm
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
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quote:
I fed a chicken curry once and it lost consciousness. I took it to the vet who said it had slipped into a korma
hahahahaha! Thats a good one! [:D][:D]
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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I think so. We have a spicy chicken outlet here called Popeye's chicken and the batter is hot. Well, down in New Orleans, we like hot food and the chain took off and the owner is a millionaire.
Wait, so Popeye's chicken is an international franchise?