Why Does Spicy Food Make Your Nose Run?

If you’ve ever had a cold or been congested, someone may have recommended that you treat yourself to some spicy food. But why? What is it about spicy food that turns people into snot spouts?

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You’ve probably heard various doctors extolling the health benefits of spicy food – improved circulation, weight loss, etc. – but too much spice can have drawbacks. Just ask all the people who hallucinated after eating some of the hottest peppers in the known world.

Even if you’ve never been that incapacitated, you’ve probably experienced the classic spicy food symptoms: a flushed face, watering eyes, and, perhaps grossest of all, an uncontrollably runny nose.

So what gives? Why would spicy food make your nose run?

In most spicy foods, it all comes down to a few specific chemicals: capsaicin and allyl isothiocyanate. They’re responsible for what scientists call a food’s pungency – that’s the technical term for “spiciness” or heat.

Capsaicin is found in plants from the Capsicum genus, like chili peppers. It’s most concentrated in the placental tissue that holds the seeds.

Allyl isothiocyanate is a colorless oil found in stuff like mustard and wasabi. These aren’t just some accident of evolution – in the world of plants, capsaicin and allyl isothiocyanate are weapons.

That’s right – capsaicin is a deterrent. It’s concentrated around the seeds because it’s meant to keep seed-crunching mammals like you, me, our pets, and Jessica Lange from scarfing them down, destroying their chances to reproduce.

Here’s what happens when you call a plant’s bluff and chow down on something spicy: the chemicals causing that ‘hot’ sensation on your tongue act on your pain receptors, not your taste buds. They also irritate the mucous membranes in your mouth, nose, throat, sinuses -- basically, your face.

Mucous membranes are linings that protect your orifices, lungs, and other inside parts from bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. The ones in your nose specialize in making nasal mucus, better known by its street name, “snot.”

Once a spicy chemical inflames the membranes, they start producing extra mucus as a defense mechanism. Your body’s trying to trap the offensive chemical and prevent it from reaching your respiratory system.

End result? Boom: your face is a snot spout. Booger bonanza. Mucous midden. Gunk geyser.

Well, maybe I’m exaggerating. A little. But you get the gist.

But it’s not like having a runny nose is always a bad thing. If you’re congested and eat spicy food, those same chemicals can affect the dilator naris muscle, tricking it into allowing more air into your nasal cavity. Receptors in your nose tell your brain “Hey, this is awesome! We’ll breathe so much more easily from now on!”

And those receptors are lying. Once you’re done eating, you’ll get stuffed up again.

SOURCES:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/peppers...

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http://graphs.net/facts-about-eating-...

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http://www.medicaldaily.com/can-eatin...

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http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/1...