[juggernaut]

I love spicy food, especially after spending the last 10 years in Thailand. I would appreciate if anyone could elaborate on this strange condition I experience when eating especially spicy foods (of the calibre that a lot of Thais would pass on - at least in my office anyway). A few seconds after the 'heat' gets cranked up in my mouth/throat upon eating something real hot, comes a bout of comical hiccups, which in the extreme I can only get to stop by lying horizontal somewhere for a couple of minutes. (This can be difficult to achieve when eating at a street stall somewhere)

My Thai colleagues now use me as a human spice meter. They will wait until I have tried a dish. If I erupt in a fit of hiccups.....they know its hot, and some will base a decision to eat a dish or not, on whether it caused me to hiccup or not. This reaction happens without fail if the food has sufficient chilli..... I have no other adverse reactions other than the hiccups, which is not really bad , but can be sometimes a little awkward etc depending on the occasion

My guess is that somehow if enough chilli is present, it somehow causes my diaphragm to spasm (uncontrollably!), but am curious as to the correct explanation of this kind of reaction. Any other chilli eaters have this kind of reaction?

Thanks

[Tolley]

I get hiccups if i eat extra spicy food and i can eat it very hot.

I don't get them as bad as you thou

Easy cure thou, don't eat too spicy.

[sbk]

I only get hiccups if I eat spicy food too fast. If I slow down and sip water, or soup, then no hiccups.

[girlx]

if the food is extra spicy (which i like) i usually get hiccups too. to make them go away i hold my breath and try to relax in general.

[5tash]

Wikipedia gives a good explanation.

"While many cases develop spontaneously, hiccups are known to be triggered by specific events, such as lack of water, eating too fast, being hungry for long, taking a cold drink while eating a hot meal, burping, eating very hot or spicy food, laughing vigorously, coughing, drinking alcoholic beverages in excess, crying out loud (sobbing causes air to enter the stomach), some smoking situations where abnormal inhalation can occur (in tobacco or other smoke like cannabis, perhaps triggered by precursors to coughing), electrolyte imbalance, talking too long, clearing the throat, by some of the stronger opiate painkillers such as Heroin, Morphine, and Oxycodone or from lack of vitamins. Hiccups may be caused by pressure to the phrenic nerve by other anatomical structures, or having the sensation that there is food in the esophagus, rarely by tumors and certain kidney disease. The American Cancer Society reports that 30% of chemotherapy patients suffer singultus as a side effect of treatment."

[londonthai]

you irritate the lining of the stomach - kids will throw up, adults have just hiccups. In a long term it ulcers the stomach, unfriendly bacterias develop and causes belching and stomach cramps.

[toptuan]

I thought I was the only one who hiccupped after especially spicy food. My hiccups are deep and painful!

Thai Visa has rendered yet another service to lonely farang souls who think their experience is unique and unsupported by other sympathetic souls!

[juggernaut]

So 5tash following your material from wikipedia, a lot of it describes triggers but there is still a big gap between all those triggers mentioned and the fact that you are suddenly convulsing uncontrollably (for some anyway), The phrenic nerve (have to look that up....!) is mentioned or the feeling of food in the oesophagus, neither of which (I am guessing) could stem any more from eating spicy as opposed to regular food.

I've tried giving up spicy food, but end up craving it like an addiction - think this is an addiction to the endorphins released while eating spicy food as opposed to the actual spicy food itself?

As to having a negative impact on the digestive system, my personal belief in everything in moderation seems to hold true. My experience is that provided you don't eat only really spicy food, it is actually beneficial by speeding up metabolism and body systems in general. Something like a dose of exercise, while eating your lunch! Lets you know you are alive!

But I digress....still looking to fill that gap between the ingestion of spicy food and the almost immediate internal spasms. Glad to know I am not the only human chilli meter.

Cheers

[Tolley]

Don't give up the chilli boys because in fact it is very good for the prostate gland!

[VIBE]

Cure all for hiccups, I kid you not.

Hold your breath, and then swallow repeatedly, while you continue to hold. Hard to do, but it really does work

[patklang]

When the spicy food is to my maximum i start with hiccups but after a drink of cold water it goes away and i continue to eat the incredible food.

[huggybear]

juggernaut, on 2008-11-12 06:09:06, said:

I love spicy food, especially after spending the last 10 years in Thailand. I would appreciate if anyone could elaborate on this strange condition I experience when eating especially spicy foods

Interesting.....................yes this happens to me too but the spiciness needs to really be over the top and I ingest it too fast.

I was raised with spicy food, I eat spicy food here in Thailand just about everyday, one of my favorite dishes, a Thai lady makes for me is a red curry pork that has my scalp sweating after the first bite, mmmmmmmmm...good.

Example of where I get the spicy induced hic'cccups.

Some Russiands were really impressed that I could down this spicy seafood salad and dared me to eat one of the uncooked red chillies on the dish. Ususally I dice these up and spred them around the dish but I picked up the whole chilli (bonehead bravado) and munched it to their delight. Whoa! Big fire, and up came the hiccups.

To the OP, I think if you eat the super spicy stuff slowly, you'll be fine. Please do an experiment for us and post the results.

[juggernaut]

huggybear...... thanks for the suggestion. I am a slow eater at the best of times anyway....something to do with talking too much whilst everyone else is eating me thinks!!

However I did consciously try on several occasions to eat my really spicy food slowly. But almost immediately after taking my first mouthful, yep you guessed
it.....hiccups! I suppose what works for one does not always work for all.

Still puzzled as to the physiological cause of this freaky condition. Any biology anatomy/experts care to explain what is happening when we hiccup and then why that would be linked to particularly spicy food in my case?

Cheers

[sabaijai]

londonthai, on 2008-11-13 12:13:18, said:

you irritate the lining of the stomach - kids will throw up, adults have just hiccups. In a long term it ulcers the stomach, unfriendly bacterias develop and causes belching and stomach cramps.

It's a myth that capsicum induces ulcers or affects them negatively. I've never heard anything about chiles encouraging 'unfriendly bacteria' either. In fact capsaicin (the active spicy ingredient in chiles) has proven medical benefits as a circulatory stimulant, pain reliever and anti-fungal, and it may reduce certain kinds of cancer as well.

The main cause of stomach ulcer is h. pylori bacteria. On the contrary, capsaicin has been used to treat stomach ulcers.

Quote

In recent years, infection of the stomach with the organism Helicobacter Pylori has been found to be the main cause of gastric ulcers, one of the common ailments afflicting humans. Excessive acid secretion in the stomach, reduction in gastric mucosal blood flow, constant intake of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), ethanol, smoking, stress etc. are also considered responsible for ulcer formation. The prevalent notion among sections of population in this country and perhaps in others is that “red pepper” popularly known as “Chilli,” a common spice consumed in excessive amounts leads to “gastric ulcers” in view of its irritant and likely acid secreting nature. Persons with ulcers are advised either to limit or avoid its use. However, investigations carried out in recent years have revealed that chilli or its active principle “capsaicin” is not the cause for ulcer formation but a “benefactor.” Capsaicin does not stimulate but inhibits acid secretion, stimulates alkali, mucus secretions and particularly gastric mucosal blood flow which help in prevention and healing of ulcers. Capsaicin acts by stimulating afferent neurons in the stomach and signals for protection against injury causing agents. Epidemiologic surveys in Singapore have shown that gastric ulcers are three times more common in the “Chinese” than among Malaysians and Indians who are in the habit of consuming more chillis. Ulcers are common among people who are in the habit of taking NSAIDS and are infected with the organism “Helicobacter Pylori,” responsible for excessive acid secretion and erosion of the mucosal layer. Eradication of the bacteria by antibiotic treatment and avoiding the NSAIDS eliminates ulcers ...

Source 1

Source 2 (lab study)

Capsaicin treatment for arthritis, ulcers

[ROBinAsia]

i'm glad to read today that there are others with this condition!

and to those who haven't witnessed a hot pepper hiccup, it's immediate! just one swallow of a small bite of a fresh hot pepper can set it off. so it's the spiciness, not the speed of eating, the time in the tummy or tubes, or other factors.

anyone have a cure for this? (other than avoidance of all hot foods)

[toptuan]

Wow, tonight ate one of those light green small bean-shaped chili peppers, and went into a fit of hiccups so loud and comical I had to leave the restaurant until they subsided. Came back to this thread again for moral support!

[Old Man River]

Years ago, when I first came to Thailand I also got hiccups from eating spicy food. I had forgotten about this until I saw this thread. Now, I eat hotter than before and no hiccups. Maybe, over time, you get used to it.

[hanno]

Quote

Maybe, over time, you get used to it

Not sure about that. I have eaten spicy all my life, and I still get hiccups occasionally.