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Can the Hottest Peppers In the World Kill You?
Hugh Pickens writes "Katharine Gammon writes that last week, the Kismot Indian restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland, held a competition to eat the extra-hot Kismot Killer curry and several ambulances were called after some of the competitive eaters were left writhing on the floor in agony, vomiting and fainting. Paul Bosland, professor of horticulture at New Mexico State University and director of the Chile Pepper Institute, says that chili peppers can indeed cause death — but most people's bodies would falter long before they reached that point. 'Theoretically, one could eat enough really hot chiles to kill you,' says Bosland adding that a research study in 1980 calculated that three pounds of the hottest peppers in the world — something like the Bhut Jolokia — eaten all at once could kill a 150-pound person. Chili peppers cause the eater's insides to rev up, activating the sympathetic nervous system — which helps control most of the body's internal organs — to expend more energy, so the body burns more calories when the same food is eaten with chili peppers. But tissue inflammation could explain why the contestants in the Killer Curry contest said they felt like chainsaws were ripping through their insides. As for the contest, restaurant owner Abdul Ali admitted the fiery dish may have been too spicy after the Scottish Ambulance Service warned him to review his event. 'I think we'll tone it down, but we'll definitely do it next year.'"
It may take more than 3 pounds, but if you drink enough water fast enough you get water toxicity.
In other words, this is "not news."
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
According to it's MSDS, capsaicin has an LD50 (lethal dose to 50% of pop'n) of 47.2 mg/kg when taken orally. So, for a 70kg person, 3.2 grams of pure capsaicin should be lethal about 50% of the time... This isn't anything new, the data has been published for a long time.
Could have just been a "or you might kill someone" warning and not a "or we'll convene the ambulance committee and have you ambulanced to death" warning.
Well chillis are not that big, and like other peppers they are hollow on the inside. So you take 10x10 of them put them in a square and stack them 6 high. It could fit on a normal plate. These are also professional eaters so they actually exercise to stretch their stomachs to a larger size. So the volume of 600 chillis isn't impossible. But I wouldn't want to be in the restroom the next day.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
So nice, they'll spice you twice.
The difference between spam and poop is that you don't have to dig through septic tanks looking for real food. -- Me
The really hot ones are really small, shriveled-up things. Also, you might want to see how SKINNY some of the winners of "extreme eating" contests are. Does she look fat to you?
So, not necessarily fat.
So hot peppers are a natural diet food. Cool - I mean HOT!
I hear getting sprayed with pepper spray has the same effect.
You are not allowed to endanger the lives of others by your actions or carelessness. The fact that the peppers are offered on by a restaurant may provide the illusion of safety where there is none. If you have a patron sustaining injury by something you have served him when you could reasonably foresee the damage done than you may be liable.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
eating them is only half the battle
I have eaten Ghost peppers straight. What is safe for one person may not be for another, does that mean no restaurant can provide food I would consider spicy since it might hurt someone else?
Well I know that they may induce hallucinations of Johnny Cash telling you to find your soul mate.
Slowly saps your will to live.
-
Or leaves horrible scars that you can pick at later.
No brain, no pain.
It's always been a mystery to me why I can eat and enjoy something so toxic that I have to wear rubber gloves to prepare them.
Given a sufficient quantity dropped on you or were fired at you at extreme velocity.
Sadly the chili pepper gun is a long way from becoming useful enough for pithy action movie hero comments "What's th' matter? Heartburn?"
crazy dynamite monkey
In fairness, the article just says the Ambulance Service "warned" them. It doesn't say some sort of formal "warning" was issued under some authority, like the parent post implied; it could've just been the Ambulance Service captain saying "I think this is dangerous."
There are plenty of real examples of Britain's insane nanny-statism without jumping to conclusions.
Liberty in your lifetime
It's not like a police warning or anything, but if you tie up the ambulance service with the culinary equivalent of a testicle-kicking contest, then they're going to ask you to reconsider your plans. Bear in mind that ambulances are a free service in the UK, there's no disincentive to phoning up an ambulance (as opposed to a taxi) if you incapacitate yourself in a hilariously moronic fashion.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Applying common sense helps, that's the "reasonably foresee" part. When you have a situation like this in your restaurant : "Half of the 20 people who took part in the challenge dropped out after witnessing the first 10 diners vomiting, collapsing, sweating and panting." you likely did not entirely think it through.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
Some people actually enjoy spicy food, it is not about toughness at all. Peppers will not eat a hole in your stomach, that is an old wives tale. Capsaicin just interacts with your sensory neurons and makes them respond as though they were being burned, no real damage is done.
Interesting medical background to an amusing news story. It's not "research", it's news.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Before anything else - this is my favourite local Indian Restaurant. Been eating there for a few years now and will continue to do so.
Secondly, 'several ambulances'? People 'writhing on the floor, fainting and vomiting'? Here's what actually happened:
Restaurant holds a curry-eating competition. Top of the list in the later rounds is the 'Kismot Killer', a curry that recently replaced a naga-based one, as too many people were finishing it easily. Anyway, if you order a killer, the restaurant staff will do everything in their power to put you off - there's warnings all over the place and you have to sign a disclaimer before eating it. If you *really* insist on eating the damn thing, you can't say you weren't warned. But anyway. So two people get to the later stages (one American, FWIW) and one of them has the bright idea of vomiting immediately after eating so as to avoid the after-effects. The other continues eating *despite being in pain and feeling faint*. I mean, seriously? So despite having the red cross present (it was a charity event), they got an ambulance to take these two to hospital for safety. The hospital gave them strong anti-indigestion medication and kicked them out.
Short version - idiots did idiotic things, complained that they shouldn't have to have any personal responsibility when the inevitable happened.
-Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience-
While the method of dying described sounds nice n all, I thought the actual danger was from asphyxiation when digesting Bhut Jolokia ( I grow those suckers myself); when strong enough chili has been digested it will often cause uncontrollable hiccups (capsacin will irritate the thingiemagic that does your breathing, causing it to cramp, which I've been told, could be enough to kill you).
The lethal dose is whats required to overload your system and die from poison (sort of like drinking too much water?) and the lack of oxygen is akin to trying to breath water or have I've just had me leg pulled?
Sweating and panting are normal responses, fainting is a bit unusual common for folks who should not be doing that. Vomiting it the only one that to me signals a problem. I wonder how much this is being hyped for shock value, or if this restaurant owner hired folks to fake it.
Hot food is often way over hyped, look at the Quaker Steak and Lube atomic sauce, it is just tabasco and some habeneros. That stuff is only 150k scoville. Lots of hot sauces are hotter. Even many natural peppers are hotter.
It doesn't eat holes. Contrary to popular belief, capsacin is not an acid or something that damages tissue at all. It stimulates your pain receptors directly and causes a kind of simulated pain. Personally, as an addicted person, I can tell you that you need your food just a little hotter each time to keep getting the endorphine rush, which is why people get to the point of eating jolokia peppers, imo.
Imagine if you weren't allowed to use roads because a bus company complained about your driving 3 times. --skunkpussy
This post is an amazing mash of urban legend, hearsay and anecdotes. Did you do it on purpose? Are you a satirical genius?
The endorphin rush can be quite something to experience too.
It's always been a mystery to me why I can eat and enjoy something so toxic that I have to wear rubber gloves to prepare them.
Endorphins.
Mystery solved.
The chemical that causes the heat sensation also triggers endorphins. So pleasure is experienced.
Toxic?.. Not sure about that. Irritant definitely. The juice on your fingers can lead to unpleasant side effects, depending where you touch.. But hardly deadly, unless you are eating some kind of concentrated industrial strength chilli. And realistically.. The super hot chills are not really intended for direct human consumption.
It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.
Define enjoy..... Mostly ridiculously hot eating is part of a bunch of guys trying to prove they're as tough as each other :) That's why I do it, and will do it again. Enjoy it? Not really.
For those of you who have lived in Texas, you know how true this is. They actually have a Chili cook-off about the time the rodeo comes to town. It takes up a major portion of the parking lot at the Astrodome.The notes are from an inexperienced chili taster named Frank, who was visiting Texas from the East Coast:
"Recently, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a chili cook-off. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking directions to the Budweiser truck, when the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy and, besides, They told me I could have free beer during the tasting, So I accepted."Here are the scorecards from the event:
Chili # 1 Mike's Maniac Mobster Monster Chili
Judge # 1-- A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.
Judge # 2-- Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild
Judge # 3-- (Frank) Holy shit, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me
two beers to put the flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These Texans are crazy.
Chili # 2 Arthur's Afterburner Chili
Judge # 1 -- Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.
Judge # 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
Judge # 3 -- Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave
off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer when they saw
the look on my face.
Chili # 3 Fred's Famous Burn Down the Barn Chili
Judge # 1 -- Excellent firehouse chili. Great kick. Needs more beans.
Judge # 2 -- A bean-less chili, a bit salty, good use of peppers
Judge # 3 -- Call the EPA. I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows
the routine by now. Get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now my backbone
is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting shit-faced from all of the beer.
Chili # 4 Bubba's Black Magic
Judge # 1 -- Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
Judge # 2 -- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chili.
Judge # 3 -- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds?
Sally, the barmaid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. That 300-lb.bitch is starting to look HOT -- just
like this nuclear waste I'm eating. Is chili an aphrodisiac?
Chili # 5 Linda's Legal Lip Remover
Judge # 1 -- Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
Judge # 2 -- Chili using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
Judge # 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four
people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had
given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher.
I wonder if I'm burning my lips off. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming.
Screw those rednecks.
Chili # 6 Vera's Very Vegetarian Variety
Judge # 1 -- Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spices and peppers.
Judge # 2 -- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.
Judge # 3 -- My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulfuric flames. I shit on myself when I farted and I'm
worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that slut Sally. She
must be kinkier than I thought. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to wipe my ass with a snow cone.
Chili # 7 Susan's Screaming Sensation Chili
Judge # 1 -- A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers
. Judge # 2 -- Ho hum, t
Capsaicin binds to and, in high enough doses, destroys neurons that are responsible for signaling molecules involved in wound healing. If you took a high enough dose that it depleted those neurons in a certain part of your body, especially your insides, it would be similar to having leprosy. Tiny cuts would get infected, and spread, and eventually you would have mass tissue death.
My lab used to study that before I started working here. Of course, we are talking super high doses, basically pure capsaicin. Peppers just aren't going to do it by themselves. As noted above, they have other health benefits, so no-one should really worry about toxicity, as the heat stops most people long before they could ever get to that point.
Scoville scale is not linear, instead use 0.36 mg capsaicin per gram of habanero, or 36 grams per kilogram. Who's going to eat a couple pounds of those things?
Chili peppers cause the eater's insides to rev up, activating the sympathetic nervous system â" which helps control most of the body's internal organs â" to expend more energy, so the body burns more calories when the same food is eaten with chili peppers.
To me, this was the most interesting part of the article. If chili peppers cause an increase in the rate of burning calories, it seems like they'd be quite useful to dieters. For those who don't have a taste for spicy foods, might capsules full of chili extract or chili powder have a similar effect on the sympathetic nervous system as full-fledged chili dishes or raw peppers? I'd be interested to see if there were any studies on this.
If you have an allergy to nightshades (pretty dang common), you're probably getting mucous production in the small intestines.
Imagine if you weren't allowed to use roads because a bus company complained about your driving 3 times. --skunkpussy
There's a scientific scale to measure the strength of Chili peppers - the Scoville scale
The average chili pepper from the supermarket isn't going to do much. You have to specially order the extra spicy ones like the Naga Viper pepper, Infinity Chili or Bhut Jolokai chili pepper, Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper.
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I never wear rubber gloves when preparing really hot chilies but always remember to wash your hands before going to pee. I spent 30 minutes curled up on the floor in the fetal position once after cutting up some bhut jolokias for chile once. It doesn't affect my hands but they are really callused but more sensitive skin is a different story.
Time to offend someone
This story brought to mind something from The Thirteen Gun Salute from the Aubrey Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian:
Apparently, this was at one time a common method of execution in the Malaysian states...
'Abdul is gruesomely executed in a bizarre sanctioned execution via "peppering," in which a bag of pepper is placed over the head (hands are also bound). The executioners, often the victim's family, then beat the bag, resulting in inhalation of the pepper and painful asphyxiation. '
(name withheld by request)
"Half of the 20 people who took part in the challenge dropped out after witnessing the first diners vomiting, collapsing, sweating and panting."
WHO THE HELL ARE THESE OTHER TEN PEOPLE?
In the context of the really hot peppers, tabasco is just flavored vinegar, so I doubt it's true (more specifically, I doubt the tabasco had anything to do with the reported loss of smell).
Toxic?.. Not sure about that.
Capsaicin is in fact a neurotoxin. Prolonged exposure to it leads to excessive Ca++ influx, and excitoxicity. Of couse, we're talking about capsaicin applied directly to neurons in a dish here, how physiologically relevant this is is debatable.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Hmm... you say there is no such thing as "Indian food," then you go on to use that exact phrase two more times.
That that is is that that that that is not is not.