The Carolina Reaper: The Harsh Effects on Your Body
The Carolina Reaper is the hottest chili pepper in the world, with a Scoville heat unit (SHU) ranging from 1.6 million to 2.3 million. This surpassed the previous record holder, the ghost chili, which has a SHU of around 1 million. For comparison, a jalape?o pepper is rated at 5,000 SHU, and a tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 SHU.
How the Scoville Scale Works
The Scoville scale was invented in 1912 by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville. The metric measures the spiciness of chili peppers by the amount of capsaicinoids they contain. The idea behind the scale is to dilute an alcohol-based extract of the pepper until it no longer tastes hot to a panel of taste testers. The more times the extract has to be diluted, the higher the SHU score.
For example, if you could dilute a pepper extract 5,000 times before it no longer tasted hot, it would have a SHU rating of 5,000. It means you would need 5,000 cups of water to dilute 1 cup of Carolina Reaper enough to no longer taste the heat. That's a significant amount!
Reactions to Eating a Carolina Reaper
Consuming a Carolina Reaper can lead to several reactions that range from mild discomfort to more severe health effects. Face flushing, tears, coughing, and vomiting are common reactions, often resulting from the activation of capsaicin receptors. These receptors trick your brain into thinking parts of your body are burning, causing a purely pain-based response.
David Julius, a professor of physiology at UC San Francisco, explains that when you experience a hot chili pepper, it’s not a taste response but a pain response. Capsaicin, the active chemical in chili peppers, binds to heat receptors located on pain nerve fibers throughout your body. This triggers the release of chemicals that increase blood flow and cause inflammation, leading to swelling in the mouth.
The mucus membranes in the mouth and throat go into overdrive, causing your mouth and eyes to water and your nose to run. In some cases, intense pain can cause you to cry.
As you swallow, your throat may begin to burn, and you might start to cough or gag. Your body responds to the perceived heat by trying to cool itself down, causing increased sweating and flushed skin. Blood vessels on the surface of your skin dilate, making your face and chest appear red and flushed, though your body temperature may actually drop.
Rare but Serious Consequences
While the reactions to eating a Carolina Reaper are generally not life-threatening, there have been rare but serious cases reported. In Turkey, two men experienced heart attacks after taking cayenne pepper pills intended for weight loss. Similarly, a 34-year-old man developed "thunderclap headaches" after eating a Carolina Reaper at a chili pepper competition. Doctors attributed these severe, sudden-onset headaches to the constriction of arteries in his brain, which they linked to the consumption of the pepper.
Capsaicin binds to heat receptors, triggering the release of pain signals. Extensive exposure can lead to inflammation and swelling, which may affect different parts of the body. In extreme cases, capsaicin can cause gastrointestinal issues like vomiting and diarrhea, as the body attempts to expel the spicy substance.
Conclusion
Consuming a Carolina Reaper is more than just an adventurous spicy meal. It involves a complex interplay of physiological responses that can lead to various discomforts and, in rare cases, severe health issues. Understanding the Scoville scale and the role of capsaicin provides insight into why the Carolina Reaper is so intense and how it affects your body.