Q&A for How to Adapt to Spicy Food

If the spicy food hurts your stomach, it is most likely that you ate the spicy food too quickly or that you ate too much. If this happens, drink milk or take a heartburn pill.

Spiciness is measured by the Scoville scale; a Jalapeño is around 3,500 Scoville whilst the hottest pepper in the world - the Carolina Reaper - is around 1,500,000.

No, spicy foods do not do any damage to your taste buds. It only feels painful because a chemical in spicy foods binds to your pain receptors and creates a feeling of pain, despite no harm actually happening.

Start putting hot sauce or jalapeños in your omelet. That how I did it, and now I eat habaneros like candy.

Yes. It's common for that to happen when you first start eating spicy foods. It will get better over time the more you eat spicy foods.

Try lactose-free milk. It's milk with casein, but without the lactose.

People who have grown up eating spicy food have a higher tolerance for it. Long-term exposure to capsaicin — the compound present in chillis — depletes substance P, a neurotransmitter. This depletion increases your tolerance for spicy food. On the other hand, those who have not grown up eating spicy food will have a relatively low tolerance for it.

Probably there's something in those food that you are allergic to. Try meeting with a doctor or dietician to find out what your food allergies are.

Don't eat too quickly when consuming spicy foods. The faster you eat them, the greater the reaction your body will have in response. Slow it down, eat plenty of starch, and drink plenty of milk. If indigestion caused by spicy food is causing your breathing problems, you may want to consult your doctor.

Yes. Some vegetables, like peppers, can add to the spiciness of a dish.

You may get to the point where food you once thought was spicy no longer affects you, but there will probably always be a pepper out there that will seem very hot to you (if only because people are constantly developing hotter varieties).

Stop eating it. You could be allergic to it, or just not capable of handling the spice.

I would recommend buying some at a grocery store if you don't have any and want to do this.

You can continue to eat dishes with a small amount of those chilis included. Eventually your tastes may adapt to be able to handle them in larger quantities. Remember though, you don't have to eat every spicy food there is!

Try coconut yogurt, or any other vegan yogurt. Vegan milks are also good, but they're thinner and yogurt is better. Fresh coffee also works, even without milk.

A compound thought to be the synaptic transmission of pain and other nerve impulses.

It may be because black pepper isn't actually a pepper, but a vine. You may be having an allergic reaction to the black pepper.

One reason is that capsaicin, a substance found in spicy foods, comes to contact with the lining of your stomach, which can lead to stomach pain or discomfort. It can also be that the chemicals in spicy food irritate a sensitive ulcer, which may begin to inflame and can even bleed.

Go to your doctor to see why the dairy-free milk hurts you; it shouldn't hurt you.

Study and practice cooking. Trial and error. Keep in mind how much and what spices you used, and adjust to your tastes. Make the same dish often, but vary the type and quantity of the peppers and spices.

Spicy foods should not cause any harm to your body. The most it can do is cause temporary pain due to the heating compound of spices. If any long-term damage is done, see a doctor.

It is best if you work your way up to the really spicy foods.

If you want to build a high tolerance to spice, ride it out. You'll get used to it.

Invest in a bidet for your toilet. The water will not only soothe your scorched derrière, it will be sparkly clean as well.

Eat spicy food consistently. Your tolerance sticks around when your tongue is used to consuming that specific kind of food, so as long as you eat spicy meals regularly, you won't lose your tolerance.

Prepare yourself ahead of time by consuming hot sauce regularly. You should already have some tolerance to the heat of hot sauce, so train yourself by drinking it daily to prepare yourself for the contest.

There are some alternatives to products with dairy that you can get at your local grocery store. For instance, there is plant-based milk, such as cashew milk and coconut milk. The same goes for yogurt, ice cream, and other foods normally made with dairy products. These products are often labeled "vegan/suitable for vegans", "dairy-free" or "plant-based."

Habaneros are rated at 150,000 to 325,000 Scoville units. Habaneros are much spicier than jalapeños.

Use another sort of milk such as almond or oat milk. You can also use something acidic like lemonade or orange juice. Ice water is another alternative.