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If you are a fan of hot and spicy food just like me , probably you are familiar with that feeling like your mouth is on fire. And often the first thing you wanna do is reaching for a glass of ice-cold water. Well guess what ? Drinking water absolutely will not relieve us from the pain and the fire in our mouths. Science says that milk, ice cream, or something to that extent will do the job!
At this point, you’re probably saying, “Yeah what ever…,” but there’s actually a scientific reason why you should skip the amazing water.
According to this video made by Reactions Everyday Chemistry, the water molecules just don’t blend in with the molecules in the spicy and hot food. When you think you’re reaching for relief, it’s really just spreading the pain even more.
For example chili peppers contain a molecule called capsaicin, which is found in their tissue and it is substantially what makes your mouth feel like it is burning. When capsaicin hits our tongue, something called a pain receptor is sending a message to our brain, which is going to give a command to our body to get the invading substance out of the body as quickly as possible, by making the eyes stream, the nose run, and the sweat begin to pour.
Science says that non-polar molecules, which are part of the capsacin, can be dissolved with non-polar molecules . On the other hand water has polar molecules.
As i said at the beginning of this article the solution is MILK. Beside the molecules which are non-polar the protein in the milk is also the key for dissolving the capsaicin.
For more detailed explanation check the video :