Turn up the heat! Increase your tolerance to hot peppers in order to enjoy their flavors and experience possible health benefits.
In order to comfortably add more hot peppers to your diet, you can increase your tolerance to capsaicin. Repeatedly consuming hot peppers can increase your tolerance and decrease your sensitivity to hot peppers by gradually reducing the effect they have on your pain receptors over time. Sound difficult? When the capsaicin in hot peppers alerts pain receptors, your body produces endorphins that reduce your sense of pain and effects your emotions. Because these endorphins make you feel good, you may even find that you actually crave more and increasingly hot peppers.
In an effort to build up your tolerance to hot peppers, you might begin with the milder peppers and graduate to more spicy varieties and slowly increase frequency of consumption. Here is a list of some common peppers in order from hot to hottest: Jalapeno and Mirasol peppers, Wax peppers, Serrano peppers, De Arbol peppers, Cayenne, Aji, and Tabasco peppers, Jamaican hot peppers, Chiltepin peppers, Scotch Bonnet and Thai peppers, and Habanero peppers. As a general rule, smaller and brighter colored peppers are hotter than others of the same type. Add hot peppers to your menu, slowly increasing the use and intensity of hot peppers as an ingredient in your meals, and you will find yourself becoming more accustomed to their heat. Jalapeno chicken, spicy ribs, and enchiladas are just a few of tasty dishes containing hot peppers. Salsa, hot sauces, relishes, and dips also provide a spicy addition to any meal. With a great variety of delicious meal options, adding hot peppers to your meals is easy and nutritious.
Use the information above to add hot peppers to your diet and increase your tolerance to hot peppers. In the meantime, here are some tips to get relief if you find yourself in a situation where you have consumed hot peppers that are intolerable. If you have eaten a hot pepper that causes you discomfort, eating something starchy such as bread, potatoes, or rice, may aid in absorbing the capsaicin. Consuming something fatty like milk, cheese, or yogurt will help dilute the capsaicin because it is an oil. Eating a fresh lemon or lime or drinking tomato juice also provides relief for some people.
