Why is it that some people like spicy food and some people hate it?

為什麼有些人喜歡吃辣而有些人卻討厭？

"Oh, man."

「喔天啊！」

How does that work?

背後的原因是什麼？

"I regret it."

「我後悔了。」

Most spiciness is caused by one of two chemicals: Allylisothiocyanite, which is what you find in wasabi or mustard, and capsaicin, which is what you find in peppers.

大多數的辛辣感是由兩種化學成分引起的，其一是異硫氰酸烯丙酯，這也是導致山葵和芥末嗆辣的物質；另一個物質則是存於辣椒之中的辣椒素。

Plants usually use these to fend off predators like ants or fungi who would otherwise destroy their seeds before they had the chance to spread.

植物通常會利用這些成分來抵禦掠食者，像是螞蟻或菌類，否則它們就會在散播種子前就被破壞。

"It's like a snake bit my tongue."

「感覺像舌頭被蛇咬到。」

So why do you feel that burning sensation when you're eating spice?

那麼，為什麼吃辣的時候會有灼熱感呢？

"When I swallow I feel it on the back of my throat"

「我吞下去的時候可以感受到它在燒我的喉嚨。」

Almost like there's actual temperature change going on？

覺得口腔的溫度就像真的上升了？

"Yeah, if I don't talk it's actually better. You can definitely feel heat build inside your face."

「如果我不說話會感覺好點，而且你真的能感受到那種灼熱感在嘴裡蔓延。」

Well, the way your body reacts to capsaicin is the same way it reacts to high temperatures.

其實吃辣時的身體反應和你遇到高溫是一樣的。

"A chunk just went down my throat."

「有一大塊剛滑進我的喉嚨裡。」

(Off-screen) "So, what is the feeling you have right now?"

工作人員：「你現在感覺如何？」

"Regret."

「後悔。」

"Starting to regulate my heartbeat."

「我在調節自己的心跳。」

Your palate is essentially being tricked into thinking that it's actually burning.

你的味覺會誤以為它真的在燃燒。

Receptors in the throat and the mouth and the tongue detect the presence of the capsaicin and they send pain signals to the other parts of the body.

當在喉嚨、舌頭和嘴巴的感覺神經察覺到辣椒素的存在時，它們就會將這種灼燒的痛覺傳送到身體其他部位。

"Breathing in and out hurts."

「連呼吸都會痛。」

"I'm starting to cry."

「我要哭了。」

When you consume capsaicin, your body releases endorphins which are natural stress-fighters.

當你吃進辣椒素後，身體會釋出能夠自然緩解壓力的腦內啡。

People learn to like spice by associating the pain of capsaicin with the positive rush of endorphins.

我們喜歡吃辣，因為這種灼辣感與腦內啡帶來的亢奮有直接的關係。

"I feel like, I'm like gassed from a marathon."

「我感覺像剛跑完馬拉松一樣，筋疲力盡。」

We rate spice with the Scoville scale which was invented by an american pharmacist named Wilbur Scoville back in 1912.

我們使用的是「史高維爾指標」來檢測辣度，這個指標是一名美國藥劑師 Wilbur Scoville 在 1912 年發明的。

Bell peppers are at the bottom with zero.

燈籠椒的辣椒素單位是 0。

Jalapeno peppers range anywhere from 2500 to 10,000 which is actually pretty low on the scale.

墨西哥辣椒大概在 2500 至 10,000 之間，其實在指標中算蠻低的。

Jump to two million and you've got standard US-grade pepper spray.

當辣度到達 200 萬，就是一般美國的胡椒噴霧。

And pure capsaicin clocks in at 15 million. That's $*%#ing hot.

而純辣椒素高達 1500 萬，那他 X 的超辣。

We've been eating spicy food for about six thousand years.

人類吃辣的歷史已經有六千年了。

If you think about the genres of food that are usually spicy like Mexican, Indian, and Thai, they're all very hot regions and there are a couple reasons for that.

想想那些充滿辛辣食物的國家，像是墨西哥、印度和泰國，他們大多是位在非常熱的地區，而這背後是有原因的。

Cooking with spice traditionally helped get rid of bacteria that could make people sick.

傳統上，在烹煮時加辣能夠殺死那些會讓人生病的細菌。

Especially in places with high humidity and heat.

特別是那些濕度及溫度都較高的地區。

"I'm sweating right now."

「我正在流汗。」

"Oh, s*&#, it's getting worse actually."

「喔！X，變得越來越糟了。」

And the next time you're sweating from a particularly spicy bite, don't go for water, it's almost totally useless.

下次你因為吃辣而流汗時，不要喝水，那幾乎沒有幫助。

What you need is milk, yogurt, rice, liquor or even peanut butter.

你需要的是牛奶、優格、飯、烈酒或甚至是花生醬。

Oils, fats, and alcohol all help dissolve the capsaicin.

油、脂肪和酒精能有效分解辣椒素。

Water just doesn't.

但水就是沒什麼用。

"It helps."

「好多了。」

Your receptors don't dull or get any less sensitive the more spicy we eat.

感覺神經不會因為吃太多的辣而變得遲鈍。

"In 30 minutes, we're all going to be laughing about this. I read on the Internet that this helps."

「我們接下來三十分鐘都會在笑這件事，我在網路上看到吃糖是有用的。」

Your body just has to learn to associate the pain with pleasure.

你只需要從這種灼辣感裡找到快感。

"It hurts but it tastes really good."

「很痛，不過真的好吃。」

"Yeah, it was worth the pain. All the burps just taste like delicious spicy food."

「這個痛很值得，我的嗝嚐起來就像美味的勁辣食物。」