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Why does your mouth feel like it's on fire when you eat a spicy pepper?
為什么吃辣椒時嘴里像是著了火一樣？
And how do you soothe the burn?
怎樣才能緩解這種灼燒感？
Why does wasabi make your eyes water?
為什么芥末醬能讓人流淚？
And how spicy is the spiciest spice?
最辣的辛香料究竟有多辣？
Let's back up a bit. First, what is spiciness?
讓我們從頭說起。首先想一個問題：什么是辣味？
Even though we often say that something tastes spicy, it's not actually a taste, like sweet or salty or sour.
我們常說一些食物很辣但實際上辣并不是一種味道它不同于甜、咸、酸這些可以嘗到的味道。
Instead, what's really happening is that certain compounds in spicy foods activate the type of sensory neurons called polymodal nociceptors.
之所以會感到辣是因為辛辣食物中的一些復合物激活了人體中一種叫“傷害性感受器”的感覺神經元。
You have these all over your body, including your mouth and nose, and they're the same receptors that are activated by extreme heat.
這種神經元遍布全身，包括嘴巴和鼻子，值得一提的是，當身體接觸到熱燙物體時也能激活這種神經元。
So, when you eat a chili pepper, your mouth feels like it's burning because your brain actually thinks it's burning.
當你吃辣椒時，嘴里之所以像是著了火是因為大腦的確認為嘴里起火了。
The opposite happens when you eat something with menthol in it.
而如果這時再吃一些含薄荷醇的食物，嘴里就會有相反的感覺，灼燒感會緩解很多。
The cool, minty compound is activating your cold receptors.
這是因為涼涼的薄荷味復合物激活了你的冷覺感受器。
When these heat-sensitive receptors are activated, your body thinks it's in contact with a dangerous heat source and reacts accordingly.
當熱敏感受器被激活，會認為你貼近了危險的熱源，身體會做出一定的反應。
This is why you start to sweat, and your heart starts beating faster.
因此這時你會開始流汗心跳加速。
The peppers have elicited the same fight-or-flight response with which your body reacts to most threats.
吃辣椒引起的身體本能反應跟身體應對危險狀況的本能反應是一樣的。
But you may have noticed that not all spicy foods are spicy in the same way.
你可能已經發現不同辣食的辣味各有不同。
And the difference lies in the types of compounds involved.
食物中的不同復合物形成了不同的辣味。
The capsaicin and piperine, found in black pepper and chili peppers, are made up of larger,
比如，黑胡椒和紅辣椒中含有的辣椒素和胡椒堿是由一種叫“烷基胺”的分子組成的，
heavier molecules called alkylamides, and those mostly stay in your mouth.
這種分子較大、較重能滯留在嘴中。
Mustard, horseradish, and wasabi are made up of smaller molecules, called isothiocyanates, that easily float up into your sinuses.
而芥末醬、辣根醬、芥末醬中含有一種叫“異硫氰酸鹽”的分子這種分子較小能輕松擴散到鼻竇處。
This is why chili peppers burn your mouth, and wasabi burns your nose.
所以，吃紅辣椒時，嘴里會有灼燒感而吃芥末醬時，鼻子里會有灼燒感。
