“Died of high chili consumption”? Is this actual English? Those words don’t seem to fit together that way. I feel like if this were a real thing, Thailand wouldn’t exist.
It seems like a more accurate title would be “died of high capsaicin consumption due to a heart defect”.
That’s still misleading. He died of a heart defect exacerbated by high capsaicin consumption.
Any high stress event could have exacerbated the heart defect.
Ya but this headline gets the clicks and that’s all they care about
You have too much time on your hands.
Wow. “Died of defect triggered by high capsaicin intake” vs “died of high capsaicin intake”
Feel better?
Yes it is better because it doesn’t suggest that capsaicin itself is inherently dangerous.
That’s an important distinction because an average person will not die from capsaicin intake.
There was an arstechnica article on this topic TLDR:
The newer 🌶️ pack so much 🥵 that we discovered too much capsaicin can cause feel bad effects in the body.
Thailand wasn’t built with ghost peppers and above. We never had 14million scovilles per bite before.
Edit: found it https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/09/teens-death-after-eating-a-single-chip-highlights-risks-of-ultra-spicy-foods/
Capsaicin is a crystalline structure. Pure capsaicin is 16 million scoville units, and is a crystal. I highly doubt there’s any food that anyone is eating that is 14 million scoville units per bite. That would require 89% of the food to be crystalline.
It’s a powder flavoring applied on top of a chip.
People don’t eat huge chunks of salt any more than they are eating chunks of capsaicin.
If we can salt chips, we can probably capsaicinize them too.
What does Thailand have to do with anything?
Mexican food has nothing on Thai food when it comes to spice. I like spicy food, even Thai-spicy food, but I have only once made the mistake of asking them to make it as spicy as they could. I swear that little old lady was hiding a huge grin as she marched that order back to the kitchen. Then they only came out to refill my water once.
It was fucking delicious, but I think I started to hallucinate.
I’ve heard that Thai restaurants have extra spicy recipes for non-Thai people trying to act tough by ordering the spiciest thing.
It’s typically the other way around.
To be fair if I ran a restaurant, I’d probably do this
It was fucking delicious, but I think I started to hallucinate.
Kindred spirit, my friend.
I knew Thai cuisine was hot, I guess the phrasing was confusing to me. That shit does get hot, along with some Indian dishes. There’s a couple of biryani places that have had me sweating like Michael Jackson at at 10th birthday party
had me sweating like Michael Jackson at at 10th birthday party
Oh my.
There’s no empirical evidence that MJ sexually abused any children. He was also acquitted. Why does this rumor persist? Because some guy who has changed his story multiple times decided after MJ died that he was abused, despite previous evidence that he wasn’t abused and that his parents tried to blackmail MJ?
I mean it’s a little quip so you probably didn’t think much of it. But he suffered enough while alive, is it really necessary to continue to assassinate his character despite him being dead and acquitted?
I held that line for decades. I honestly thought he had a super fucked up childhood and just turned into a weird manchild with fucked up boundaries. But in the last few years since his death I feel like the balance of evidence is weighing heavily against him. Of course he’s not around to defend himself any more, either. I’m done sticking up for him. Either way it’s a tragic tale.
There’s evidence he paid the kids off, yes
They like 🌶️
I think every country likes emojis.
How hot Thai food is, is somewhat overblown. It’s the hottest regularly served food in the world, but it’s not hotter than some people enjoy. Their “spicy” comes from red and green chili’s, ginger, peppercorn, and garlic. By far, the hottest of that group is the red chili’s, but those are around 200,000 scoville. I can eat those and not break a sweat.
The one chip challenge was a lot hotter than any Thai food. Hotter than any of the other challenge or worlds hottest “x” that I’ve tried (friends and stuff gift me these types of things a lot). I’ve bought a lot of sauces that are hotter than it, and it still didn’t have me wishing for something to drink. My mouth just doesn’t react to capsaicin as much as the average persons.
There is another country that would not exist if high Chile consumption was a real thing.
This is real title gore, the sentence structure barely makes sense too. Unwinding the journalistic word order and even correcting for the missing word “report” and the chilli misspelling, it basically says
Autopsy was conducted on a teen who had a tortilla, and it[s report] says: “He died of high chil[li] consumption and had a heart defect.”
The logic is technically correct but the following bizzare statements are suggested (not implied):
- If you are a teen and eat a tortilla, a doctor may decide you need an autopsy. Prevention first, amirite?
- The cause of death of the teen in question was high chilli consumption, which caused a heart defect, and subsequently the autopsy, either of which alone would be enough to kill him.
So bad it’s good. Personally, I like the description text on the video that makes it seem like the teen who was autopsied is speaking:
An autopsy of a Massachusetts teen who died after participating in a spicy tortilla chip challenge says he died from eating a lot of chile pepper extract, and 14-old Harris Wolobah had a congenital heart defect.
Editorially, it’s a hilarious article. Though, respect to journalists out there. This might be a situation of, “Johnson, I need that tortilla chip death article on my desk in 5 minutes”.
edit: Per the correction in the article, I guess AP style guidelines dictate ‘chile’ instead of ‘chili’. It looks super weird to me!
You mean like “died of multiple mosquite bites” doesn’t make sense because people live in countries with a lot of mosquitos?
I’m not sure what part of my post indicated I might be serious, but I wasn’t. I was just commenting on the title gore with a funny.
So he died of a heart defect, exacerbated by high capsaicin intake.
Thank you for fixing the headline! 👍
As someone who regularly eats 1million+ Scoville chilies and sauces, these chips ain’t nothing to fuck with. It gave me the absolute worst stomach pains I’ve ever had, it was like the flu but worse. There’s gotta be something in those chips that at a level that’s not normal for peppers.
Yeah well, this guy was apparently trying to eat a whole country?
Boo
I’ve been getting those stomach pains lately trying to pursue the amount of heat I like in my food. I finally decided I just needed to take a break from spicy food to reset my tolerance.
Though, I was watching the series Superhot, and it seems that the stomach pains are pretty commonly associated with eating a lot of those types of super hot foods. So, I’m guessing it’s just from the sheer amount of capsaicin on those chips. It’s pretty much just capsaicin extract at that point.
Maybe, but I eat a lot of stuff that are mostly pure capsaicin and none of them mess up my stomach like that. And with this chip the heat in my mouth wasn’t as bad, but my stomach pain was much worse. That makes me think something else is responsible.
the msg
Lol no.
What? Maybe they have inconsistent batches, but I did it with friends and it was fine. Hot, obviously, but nothing that crazy. I was pressured into it and didn’t play to win, so I went straight for bread and juice for a bit and it was fine. Two of my competitive friends were chilling, the spice went away after a few minutes for them, to the point that the challenge of seeing who can go longest without drinking anything was not even about the heat, but just who could go the longest without drinking in general/who got thirsty the normal way first
I wouldn’t be surprised. To be clear though, the heat I felt in my mouth and face wasn’t really all that much. Just north of a habanero maybe. It was pretty much the damage it did to my insides that got me.
That’s fair, that was their experience too actually now that I think about it. Maybe all the bread I ate neutralized it, cause I had no issues after the heat passed
Saw some guy eat like 50 of em on youtube.
This happened in August 2023.
I don’t get why anyone likes eating super spicy foods. After a certain level of heat there is no more flavor, just spice, and it clearly can cause serious problems for your body. What is the draw?
It being dangerous is extremely rare, and the extreme heat can give a pretty big endorphin rush.
Yeah it’s fun.
You build a tolerance to the heat as you eat more and more spicy food.
After a certain level of heat there is no more flavor, just spice…
Again, your tolerance is what dictates the accuracy of this statement. I think Paqui chips taste terrible, the spice level has nothing to do with it. But, as the other commenter mentioned, you pursue this level of heat because you enjoy the rush it gives you. If you can handle the spice of super hot foods, you either need a ton of peppers (which just makes your good taste like peppers), or you need something insanely hot to add, so you can maintain the food’s good flavor, while also having a satisfying level of heat.
The draw is the rush.
Because you get used to it and what was super hot a few months ago is just a little tingly today. So over time you eat hotter and hotter stuff.
As someone who loves super spicy foods:
Heat doesn’t alter flavor. Capsaicin itself is flavorless, so if you just take a food and add capsaicin extract, it’ll increase the heat without changing flavor.
However, IMO there’s no point in doing that unless you’re trying to win a challenge. Most of us get capsaicin from peppers, and each pepper has a unique flavor that can add a lot of nuance to a dish.
Plus, I enjoy the heat sensation and am highly tolerant, so I can eat high heat foods and enjoy them. I would not recommend a spice-naive person start out on super hots.
I love spicy food, but as you said, only to a degree. The “spicy” part of the equation consists of both taste and the influence on your mouth’s temperature sensors. If the latter is hyperactive due to capsacain flavor goes out the window, at which point the food is no longer palatable to me.
I ate the hottest level they had at Quaker steak and lube one time. I was laughing and crying at the same time while bouncing around in my seat. It had a bit of an endorphin rush, but also hurt heh Edit: got my free shirt though! Still have it I think. All about the swag baby
Steak and…lube?
I love super spicy sauces because I can add a few drops to food to make it spicy without altering the flavor. I used to eat super spicy for the fun of it but my stomach hates me now, so I’ve had to tone back.
The endorphin rush plus some really hot stuff is really tasty
(Gonna get downvoted here, but hear me out here,)
Capsaicin isn’t a spice*. It’s not even a flavonoid. That is to say, it doesn’t trigger or act against the taste receptors in your tongue.
What the stuff does is trigger the heat receptors in your mouth (and skin and everywhere else you have heat receptors.) causing your body to feel like it’s burning.
“Spiciness” is what happens when your flavor receptors get overloaded. If you want to experience it, go get fresh garlic and chew a raw whole clove. (Do NOT swallow. And be prepared for massive indigestion. Raw garlic is not to be trifled with.) or maybe take the cinnamon challenge (spoonful, hold it in your mouth. Do not swallow,)
In any case capsaicin itself causes happy-hormones to be released, as a result of the sensation of being burned through. (The sensation also causes increased heart rate and that can get excessive, too.)(the people that like super-hot peppers are masochists.)
(*Spices are technically parts of plants used for flavor that generally aren’t the leaves. So the pepper itself can be a spice, don’t get me wrong. Most are quite fruity. The vast majority of people are not using hot peppers for that fruitiness, though.)
I just find it fun. And super hot sauces don’t have to be devoid of flavor. There’s truly a lot of options when it comes to hot sauces. I have a rack specifically for super hot sauce bottles, lol.
My wife got me these really nice pepper flake blends from Flatiron for the holidays a few years ago and it was a fantastic gift. It included 5 different blends ranging from about 10,000 Scoville to about… 750,000K. It’s painful. Straight up. I can’t say it isn’t an unpleasant sensation. It’s just fun. Like I’ll be chuckling to myself while wheezing from the overwhelming heat.
There’s a Carolina Reaper version of Blue Almond almonds that I love. Super spicy. And low carb. Unfortunately I think they discontinued them because there isn’t a huge market for superhot enjoyers.
The Trinidad Scorpion pepper is hot, but has an EXTREMELY delicious fruity flavor that I haven’t had from any other pepper.
Carolina reapers just taste/smell like gasoline.
There’s a hot sauce I regularly get that’s scorpion pepper and prickly pear and it’s amazing. Fruity to the point of being almost bubble gum sweet at first and then the heat hits.
I’ve got one called “La Jefa” from SauceBoss that has it, nice earthy and hot flavor with that nice fruityness
Also got one called “Djabla Filipino hot sauce”, also very tasty
Eat Hot Chip and Die?
Last man standing chili contest?
Its not a challenge if you can’t fail
Large doses of capsaicin can increase how the heart squeezes, putting extra pressure on the artery, noted Dr. Syed Haider, a cardiologist at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
Is it the nerves or the muscles of the heart that have this reaction to capsaicin? And does it only target the heart?
I don’t think it’s a direct reaction. I think it’s much more likely that capsaicin induces stress and that messes with the heart.
As a chili pepper lover myself I absolutely do not get this garbage trope of treating chili pepper consumption as some kind of contest. The idea is to add heat to your food - not prove your pathetic “manliness.”
In my opinion, anything above Habanero is just pointless masochism for no good reason at all.
Ghost peppers taste really good. There is a ghost pepper salsa I freaking love.
I think ghost peppers have fun uses and the Carolina reaper almonds from diamond are actually delicious and not that spicy (guessing they use very little). I agree that the mega potent stuff is better used for spicing up a 3 lb pot of chili.
In my opinion, anything above Habanero is just pointless masochism for no good reason at all.
Idk man I agree otherwise, but tolerances rise. And different chilis taste different. Habanero has a nice, sweet taste, and naga yolokia has a bit sharper taste.
So it very much depends.
I don’t try to make “hot” food, but wanting a bit of heat in every meal has lead to my tolerances rising and Habanero just not cutting it for proper heat. (I think the heat is good when you
almostfeel it in your nipples.)What is it when I feel your nipples?
What is it when I feel your nipples?
A good night
Wholesome 💯
I am an adult, and I do like spicy food, but I’d like to throw in that this chip is fine. It’s spicy, but not crazy. It was hot for a few minutes and then not hot.
I’m more surprised that the article affirms that large amounts of capsaicin can be physically damaging in some way. I’ve never heard of that before.
I know of at least two currywurst places in Germany where they offer crazy hot sauces. The more intense ones are 18+ and I think at least one of the places makes you sign that you
won’t sue themunderstand the risk of eating food that spicy.There’s an ice cream store in Rehoboth, DE that makes you sign a waiver before eating their ghost pepper ice cream. (It was hot but not sign a waiver hot).
Wow, apparently I do not understand the risks. I actually looked it up after I really started eating spicy food almost everyday and I understood capsaicin to excite nerves but not cause any physical damage.
I am going to have to look that up again I guess.
I think the only thing I came across was it being good for your GI tract somehow, like being good for stopping ulcers.
He tried to eat Chile? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
This story has been edited to conform to AP style: chile, instead of chili.
WTF???
They actually changed it on purpose to be stupid?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile_(disambiguation)
“Chile may also refer to:
Food
Chile pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus Capsicum”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili_pepper
“Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli”
If you mean Chili write Chili or Chilli, Chile is a country. Also why did AP feel they needed to change it, when the other spellings are equally correct, and more common.
That’s moronic.Chile as a spice is also near impossible to search for, you will get exclusively results that are spelled chilli or chili. So why opt for a spelling that in every way is worse?
Those things are awful. They use charcoal in them and it tastes like snorting campfire ashes.
Spicy death!
Maybe too soon.
If you play stupid games you win stupid prizes.
Eating a tortilla chip probably shouldn’t kill you.
“Shouldn’t”. Yet here we are.
Tortilla chips probably shouldn’t need warning labels. Yet here we are.
I feel like you think you’re saying something profound, but it honestly doesn’t sound like you’re saying anything at all. What does this comment even mean?
He had a heart condition. The capsaicin triggered a reaction. He died.
It’s not like people are frequently dying because of spicy food. There are no shortages of spicy food eating challenges, and usually nobody gets hurt. It’s generally regarded as harmless, because it usually is.
This was a tragedy, but you’re acting like he deserved it or something. For eating a hot tortilla chip from the grocery store: a thing that never fucking kills people.
