From a physiological perspective, "spiciness" is a sensation of pain. However, this pain is enjoyed by many people. Everyone's tolerance for "spicy flavors" varies, but spiciness that exceeds an individual's tolerance range can cause discomfort. So, if you've been "spiced up" — whether it's in your mouth or on your hands — what methods can effectively alleviate that "fiery" feeling?
The substance responsible for the "fiery" sensation is called "capsaicin," also known as "capsaicinoid." It is highly hydrophobic, meaning it does not dissolve in water. In the human mouth and on the skin, there are numerous specific nerve receptors. When capsaicin binds to these nerve receptors, it generates corresponding neural signals that are transmitted to the brain, causing the body to feel "fiery."
When we feel "fiery," the capsaicin has already bound to the nerve receptors. To alleviate this uncomfortable sensation, we need to remove the capsaicin from the receptors and prevent it from binding to other receptors. Since capsaicin is not soluble in water, it’s understandable that water is not an effective way to "reduce spiciness."
Some researchers organized over 20 volunteers to conduct experiments comparing the effectiveness of different "spiciness-reducing" methods. The results showed that after being spiced, rinsing with water had some effect, and cold water was more effective than room-temperature water. However, compared to milk, milk was much more effective. The reason might be that milk contains large amounts of casein. Casein is an excellent emulsifier that can effectively encapsulate and carry away hydrophobic substances. Further research found that there wasn't much difference between different types of milk, but temperature had a greater impact. Overall, low-temperature whole milk was the most effective.
This study also tested the "spiciness-reducing" effects of sucrose water. The results showed that 10% sugar water was as effective as 5°C milk. For those who dislike or cannot drink milk, this could be good news. As for why sugar water can reduce the "spicy" sensation, scientists have proposed various hypotheses, but there isn't sufficient evidence to prove them. However, for us, "sugar water reduces spiciness" is clearly enough.
In theory, alcohol should be able to dissolve capsaicin and thus have good spiciness-reducing capabilities. This aforementioned study also compared the "spiciness-reducing ability" of alcohol. They used 5% alcohol, which falls between beer and wine. But surprisingly, this concentration of alcohol was no more effective than room-temperature water. However, other data indicates that 20% alcohol would be highly effective. Considering that this concentration is equivalent to low-alcohol liquor, using it to "reduce spiciness" doesn’t seem like a good choice. Of course, if your hands are "spiced up," washing them with alcohol might be a good solution.
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