How Does Spicy Food Work? Spiciness, Explained With Science

Chili peppers contain a chemical compound called capsaicin that activates pain receptors in your mouth. So why does your brain and body perceive spicy foods as hot?

Watch WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez try foods seasoned with different types of hot peppers to explain the neuroscience behind our subjective and physical experience with spicy food.

0:00 Why is my brain telling me that it’s on fire?
0:42 Capsaicin: the active ingredient in spicy food
0:58 How our brain and body reacts to capsaicin
3:33 Too much spiciness could be dangerous
4:12 Why does milk and dairy help with eating spicy foods?

I’m Daniela Hernandez, a health and science reporter for WSJ, and on this channel I’ll be covering a variety of subjects from neuroscience to the science of food and public health. If you’re interested in science and health and how cutting edge research impacts our lives, don’t forget to subscribe.

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