Drug info - capsaicin: tolerance to spice?

[bcubed]

I feel kinda funny posting this as a "drug," but apparently it has analgesic effects in addition to just being spicy. Capsaicin is the "spicy" in hot peppers.

I used to eat spicy food at least weekly, and had established a baseline where a given hot wings (advertised at 30,000 scoville heat units) was enjoyingly challenging.

I've been away from very spicy food for a few months, and now the same wings are almost inedible! Is it possible one acquires a tolerance to capsaicin like one would with certain drugs? I knew that I've grown accustomed to hotter foods over the years, but I figured that was a learned response.

Also, just how hot a spice would it be possible to habituate ones'self to?

[Zaprenz]

In countries where spicy food is prevelant you will find most people will have a high tolerance.

It's definately something which one can build up a tolerance to and is probably a combination of physical tolerance to the VR1 receptor which capsaicin stimulates and psychological tolerance to any pain.

Any "buzz" which one receives is due to the bodies natural response to any type of pain and is probably more complex than just involving the subsequent release of endorphins in the brain.

In terms of it's use as an analgesic - applied topically it causes the release of substance P, such that whatever it's being used to treat (e.g ankle pain) will not hurt as much as there is less substance P to release.

[bcubed]

Okay, the challenge has been made!

For the next 20 days, I'll consume hot sauce with EVERY meal to determine, once and for all, if tolerance actually occurs, reporting back.

(And in 60 more days, I'll post in the "addiction and recovery" section about my 10-habanjero-a-day habit...)

[Zaprenz]

SWIM is under the impression there might be a study vaguely linking eating chilli and stomach cancer.

Not sure if it was very conclusive still might want to have a search on pubmed if your considering such a long term commitment!

[Pomzazed]

Here in my country (Thailand) merely 3/4 of all food kinds except for dessert are spicy and people are well tolerated to capsaicin and related compound.

[Zaprenz]

Yeah there are also mean't to be many benefits of certain spices.

Was just suggesting if someone is going to take chilli for the sake of it [?] (to increase tolerance) might be worth looking in to health effects (good or bad).