When you eat a spicy dish, your body interprets the heat as a kind of personal attack. As a self-defense response, your body triggers the release of endorphins natural opiates that have a blissful, painkilling effect. These opiate compounds also trigger a secondary response: The nerve endings that detect heat also detect the spices and send signals to the brain accordingly. This in turn prompts the brain to instruct the voice box to make that familiar hiccuping noise (and incidentally flood your mouth with saliva). This is why spicy foods tend to cause hiccups when you eat them. If you love spicy food, this article is for you! Read on to find out more about why spicy foods cause hiccups when you eat them.
Why Do I Get Hiccups When I Eat Spicy Food?
When you eat spicy food, the spices in the food irritate the lining of your esophagus, which is the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. This irritation causes a reflex that contracts the diaphragm, the muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen. The contraction of the diaphragm squeezes your lungs and forces air out, which is what we know as a hiccup.
What Are Hiccups?
Hiccups are one of the most common childhood ailments
The hiccups are a common childhood ailment, and they’re usually harmless or even amusing. They’re also quite random they can hit you at any time, in any place, and for no apparent reason at all. But it’s not just children who get hiccups adults can get them, too. In fact, hiccups are so common that they’re often referred to as “the universal human malady.”
Some people say that hiccups are a form of self-defense
Some people believe that hiccuping is a kind of self-defense mechanism that evolved to protect us from harm when we were still babies (and unable to fend for ourselves). According to this theory, our prehistoric ancestors developed the ability to hiccup in response to danger when they were attacked by predators or other animals (which may have been the cause of their first hiccups). As we grew older and more able to defend ourselves against predators and other dangers on our own, we retained this ability as an effective “coping mechanism” — one that our bodies continue to use today when we feel threatened or nervous (such as when we eat spicy foods).
Hiccups can be triggered by stress or anxiety
When you’re stressed or anxious, your body releases chemicals called epinephrine and norepinephrine into your bloodstream (which
can trigger your hiccups).
Hiccups can be triggered by certain foods and drinks
Certain foods or drinks can also trigger hiccups, including Alcohol (e.g., hard liquor) Chocolate (e.g., chocolate syrup, chocolate milk) Caffeine (e.g., coffee, tea) Spicy foods (e.g., hot peppers, curry) Sweets (e.g., candy and sugar)
The hiccups can be triggered by your body’s response to stress
Your body’s reaction to stress can also trigger your hiccups. For example, when you’re stressed or anxious, your body releases epinephrine and norepinephrine into your bloodstream.
Why Do Spicy Foods Cause Hiccups?
- When consumed, spicy foods trigger the release of endorphins in the brain. Your body interprets the heat as a kind of personal attack. As a self-defense response, your body triggers the release of endorphins – natural opiates that have a blissful, painkilling effect. These opiate compounds also trigger a secondary response: The nerve endings that detect heat also detect the spices and send signals to the brain accordingly. This in turn prompts the brain to instruct the voice box to make that familiar hiccuping noise (and incidentally flood your mouth with saliva).
- The hiccups are caused by nerve endings in your throat detecting spicy foods and sending signals to your brain. When you eat spicy food, your body interprets the heat as a kind of personal attack. As a self-defense response, your body triggers the release of endorphins – natural opiates that have a blissful, painkilling effect. These opiate compounds also trigger a secondary response: The nerve endings that detect heat also detect the spices and send signals to the brain accordingly. This in turn prompts the brain to instruct the voice box to make that familiar hiccuping noise (and incidentally flood your mouth with saliva).
- Spicy foods cause hiccups because they trigger an automatic nervous system response called ‘sympathetic hyperexcitation’. Sympathetic hyperexcitation is an automatic nervous system response that occurs when you eat spicy food. It’s triggered by the release of endorphins from your brain and the subsequent release of saliva from your mouth. You’ll probably know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever eaten a spicy meal and felt like you were going to hiccup.
- Spicy foods cause hiccups because they trigger an automatic nervous system response called ‘sympathetic hyperexcitation’. Sympathetic hyperexcitation is an automatic nervous system response that occurs when you eat spicy food. It’s triggered by the release of endorphins from your brain and the subsequent release of saliva from your mouth. You’ll probably know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever eaten a spicy meal and felt like you were going to hiccup.
- Spicy foods cause hiccups because they trigger an automatic nervous system response called ‘sympathetic hyperexcitation’. Sympathetic hyperexcitation is an automatic nervous system response that occurs when you eat spicy food. It’s triggered by the release of endorphins from your brain and the subsequent release of saliva from your mouth. You’ll probably know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever eaten a spicy meal and felt like you were going to hiccup.
How To Stop Hiccups When Eating Spicy Food?
Dilute the Spicy Food
If you love spicy food and want to stop hiccups when you eat it, diluting the spice is probably your best bet. This means you can lessen the burn of eating spicy food by drinking plenty of water. You can also use this trick with other foods that cause hiccups too (e.g., oysters, peanuts, and chocolate).
Eat Slowly
Eating slowly will help your body adjust to the sudden increase in blood pressure caused by eating spicy foods. It will also allow your body time to get used to all that heat so that when you eat spicy food again, later on, you won’t experience as much of a shock!
Don’t Eat Very Spicy Food
There’s no getting around the fact that some dishes are just too spicy for most people to handle. If you’re one of those people, you might want to avoid very spicy foods altogether.
Eat More Slowly
If you’re not a fan of spicy food, but still want to stop hiccups when eating it, trying to eat more slowly might help you avoid the hiccups altogether. This means taking your time with your food and savoring every bite — instead of gobbling down your food as quickly as possible in order to get it over with.
Try a Low-Salt Broth or Hot Tea
If you find that eating spicy foods causes hiccups when you eat them, this trick will definitely help you stop them! By drinking a low-salt broth or hot tea before eating spicy foods, your body will be less likely to trigger the release of endorphins from the spices in the food — which will hopefully prevent the hiccups from happening in the first place!
Drink Plenty of Water Before Eating Spicy Food
Have a glass of water before digging into any hot dish! Drinking plenty of water before eating anything is always a good idea, and it can also help prevent hiccups when eating spicy foods! Even though it’s obvious that drinking water before eating spicy foods is a good idea, I’m surprised more people don’t follow this simple tip especially when they’re eating spicy foods.
Avoid Spicy Foods If You’re Pregnant
If you’re pregnant, trying to stop hiccups when eating spicy foods is a bad idea. This is because pregnant women are more sensitive to the effects of eating spicy foods, and may experience nausea or hiccups if they do eat them. So, if you’re expecting a baby, you might want to avoid spicy foods altogether until after your baby is born!
Conclusion
The next time you eat spicy food and get hiccups, don’t fret. They are a normal reaction to eating too much spicy food, and they’ll go away on their own in a matter of minutes. Hiccups are caused by a sudden rise in intra-abdominal pressure, which closes off blood flow to your stomach and triggers the need to expel gas from your system. To prevent hiccups, you can drink plenty of water, eat less spicy food, eat a balanced diet, and manage your stress levels. If you already have hiccups, there are a few things you can do to get rid of them. First, try drinking a glass of water — it works every time. You can also try eating a spoonful of peanut butter or putting your fingers on your ears while hiccuping.
