And how do you soothe the burn?

你又要如何舒緩這種灼燒感？

Why does wasabi make your eyes water?

為什麼山葵會讓你流淚？

And how spicy is the spiciest spice?

而最辣的辣又是多辣呢？

Let's back up a bit.

讓我們倒轉一下。

First, what is spiciness?

首先，什麼是辣？

Even though we often say that something tastes spicy, it's not actually a taste like sweet or salty or sour.

即使我們常說這東西嘗起來很辣，這其實並不是一種味道像甜或鹹或酸那樣。

Instead, what's really happening is that certain compounds in spicy foods activate the type of sensory neurons called polymodal nociceptors.

反之，其實真正發生的是會辣的食物中有某些化合物，活化了某些感覺神經元，我們稱為多樣性疼痛受器。

You have these all over your body including your mouth and nose and they're the same receptors that are activated by extreme heat.

你的身體遍布這些東西，包括你的嘴巴及鼻子裡都有 , 而且他們也是會被極熱活化得感覺受器。

So, when you eat a chili pepper, your mouth feels like it's burning.

所以，當你吃辣椒的時候，你的嘴巴感覺像火燒般。

Because your brain actually thinks it's burning.

因為你的大腦的確認為是燒起來了。

The opposite happens when you eat something with menthol in it.

相反的情況則是當你在吃含薄荷酵的東西的時候

The cool, minty compound is activating your cold receptors.

這種清涼具薄荷味的化合物，會活化你的冷覺受器。

When these heat-sensitive receptors are activated, your body thinks it's in contact with a dangerous heat source and reacts accordingly.

當這些對熱敏感的受器被活化時，你的身體認為他正與一種危險的熱源接觸，並做出相應的反應。

This is why you start to sweat, and your heart starts beating faster.

這就是為什麼你開始流汗且你的心臟開始跳得更快。

The peppers have elicited the same fight-or-flight response with which your body reacts to most threats.

辣椒會引發戰鬥或逃跑反應，就像你的身體對大部分威脅的反應一樣。

But you may have noticed that not all spicy foods are spicy in the same way.

但你可能已經注意到，並非所有的辛辣食物都是一樣的辣法。

And the difference lies in the types of compounds involved.

而其差別是在於何種化合物引發的辣

The capsaicin and piperine, found in black pepper and chili peppers, are made up of larger, heavier molecules called alkylamides.

辣椒素及胡椒鹼可在黑胡椒及辣椒內發現，是由較大較重的分子組成，稱為烷醯胺。

And those mostly stay in your mouth.

而那些大分子大多停留在嘴裡。

Mustard, horseradish, and wasabi are made up of smaller molecules called isothiocyanates, that easily float up into your sinuses.

芥末，辣根及山葵則由小一點的分子組成，稱為異硫氰酸酯，很容易上飄到你的鼻竇中。

This is why chili peppers burn your mouth,and wasabi burns your nose.

這就是為什麼辣椒會辣你的嘴，而山葵則嗆你的鼻子。

The standard measure of a food's spiciness is its rating on the Scoville scale which measures how much its capsaicin content can be diluted before the heat is no longer detectable to humans.

食物辛辣度的衡量標準取決於它在史高維爾指標中的分數，這項指標測量溪是辣椒素的需要量。

A sweet bell pepper gets 0 Scoville heat units, while Tabasco sauce clocks in between 1,200-2,400 units.

甜椒的史高維爾辣度單位為 0 ，而塔巴斯科辣椒醬的辣度則在1200~2400之間。

The race to create the hottest pepper is a constant battle.

比賽想要培育出最辣的辣椒是一場持久的辣椒之戰。

But two peppers generally come out on top : The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion and the Carolina Reaper.

但一般而言有兩種辣椒拔得頭籌：千里達毒蠍辣椒及卡羅萊納死神辣椒。

These peppers measure between 1.5 and 2 million Scoville heat units, which is about half the units found in pepper spray.

這兩種辣椒的辣度介於150到200萬使高維爾辣度單位之間，而這辣度大約為催淚瓦斯的一半。

So, why would anyone want to eat something that causes such high levels of pain?

所以，為什麼有人會想吃讓人這麼痛的東西？

Nobody really knows when or why humans started eating hot peppers.

沒有人知道從何時起或為什麼人類開始吃辣椒與其他人類文物。

Archaeologists have found spices like mustard along with human artifacts dating as far back as 23,000 years ago.

考古學家發現辛香料如芥茉，一併可追溯至二萬三千年前。

But they don't know whether the spices were used for food or medication or just decoration.

但他們不知道這些辛香料是用做食品或藥品或僅是裝飾品。

More recently, a 6,000 year old crockpot, lined with charred fish and meat, also contained mustard.

時間再近一點，有一個六千年的燉鍋，鍋底沾了一層燒焦的魚及肉也含有芥末。

One theory says that humans starting adding spices to food to kill off bacteria.

有一個理論說人類開始加辛香料入食物是為了殺菌。

And some studies show that spice developed mostly in warmer climates where microbes also happen to be more prevalent.

而這一些研究證明辛香料的利用，大部分是生長在較暖和的氣候區裡，而剛好那裏也是微生物或菌類易生長的地方。

But why we continue to subject ourselves to spicy food today is still a bit of a mystery.

但為什麼我們繼續讓自己屈服於辛辣食物，至今仍是個謎。

For some people, eating spicy food is like riding roller-coasters; they enjoy the ensuing thrill, even if the immediate sensation is unpleasant.

對某些人而言，吃辣的食物就像坐雲霄飛車一樣即使這立時的感覺並不愉快。

Some studies have even shown that those who like to eat hot stuff are more likely to enjoy other adrenaline-rich activities, like gambling.

有些研究甚至指出，那些喜歡吃辣的人更有可能享受其它讓人腎上腺素分泌旺盛的活動，像是賭博一樣。

The taste for spicy food may even be genetic.

喜歡吃辣味口味的人，甚至可能是來自基因遺傳。

And if you're thinking about training a bit, to up your tolerance for spice, know this：

如果你想訓練一下，以提升自己吃辣的忍受度， 一定要知道以下幾點：

According to some studies, the pain doesn't get any better.

根據某些研究，對辣的疼痛感並不會減輕

You just get tougher.

你只是變得更能忍受辣了。

In fact, researchers have found that people who like to eat spicy foods don't rate the burn any less painful than those who don't.

事實上，研究者發現喜歡吃辣的人對辣味的痛覺打分數時，並不少於不吃辣的人。

They just seem to like the pain more.

他們只是似乎享受辣味的痛感罷了。

So, torment your heat receptors all you want.

所以，盡情地折磨你的熱覺受器吧。

But remember, when it comes to spicy food,you're going to get burned.

但要記住一點，當要小心吃辛辣食物時，你生理就會像引火自焚一樣。