4 ms·

> eating chili triggers an endorphin high, but regularly eating chili makes you less sensitive and hence you have to eat more chili to get your little high I w

> eating chili triggers an endorphin high, but regularly eating chili makes you less sensitive and hence you have to eat more chili to get your little high I wonder what is the evolutionary reason for that. The older you are, the more defense you needed against bacteria?

short_sells_poo 4y ago
I always thought that the endorphin high is unrelated to the beneficial effect: any strong pain is normally followed by a release of endorphins to compensate. It's why pain and pleasure are often difficult to disentangle. A strong dose of capsaicin will induce a painful sensation in the mouth (you'll feel like burning), which is compensated by a release of endorphins.
scns 4y ago
Taste sensitivity declines with age. Strong flavours like smelly cheese are disgusting for kids but enjoyed by older adults.
- fauria 4y ago
  They are enjoyed by adults who acquired that taste: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquired_taste https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquired_taste For instance, it would be really hard to find anyone, no matter how old, who enjoys surströmming or hákarl without having become acquitted with them.
  - wizofaus 4y ago
    Acquainted :) Though perhaps they are used as part of the Swedish justice system?
samatman 4y ago
Biological systems seeks homeostasis on a very deep level. A lot of our brain is devoted to normalizing volume and brightness, for example. The reason chili enthusiasts need more over time is basically the same as the reason heroin enthusiasts do.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  But our sensitivity to temperature doesn't decrease with age, if anything the opposite... even if that's more obvious with ambient rather than tactile temperature (which I'd imagine are processed quite differently by our nervous systems).
epgui 4y ago
The desensitization to hot peppers happens at a much smaller scale than years, so it doesn’t have much to do with your age.

short_sells_poo 4y ago

I always thought that the endorphin high is unrelated to the beneficial effect: any strong pain is normally followed by a release of endorphins to compensate. It's why pain and pleasure are often difficult to disentangle. A strong dose of capsaicin will induce a painful sensation in the mouth (you'll feel like burning), which is compensated by a release of endorphins.

scns 4y ago

Taste sensitivity declines with age. Strong flavours like smelly cheese are disgusting for kids but enjoyed by older adults.

fauria 4y ago
They are enjoyed by adults who acquired that taste: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquired_taste https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquired_taste For instance, it would be really hard to find anyone, no matter how old, who enjoys surströmming or hákarl without having become acquitted with them.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  Acquainted :) Though perhaps they are used as part of the Swedish justice system?

samatman 4y ago

Biological systems seeks homeostasis on a very deep level. A lot of our brain is devoted to normalizing volume and brightness, for example. The reason chili enthusiasts need more over time is basically the same as the reason heroin enthusiasts do.

wizofaus 4y ago
But our sensitivity to temperature doesn't decrease with age, if anything the opposite... even if that's more obvious with ambient rather than tactile temperature (which I'd imagine are processed quite differently by our nervous systems).

epgui 4y ago

The desensitization to hot peppers happens at a much smaller scale than years, so it doesn’t have much to do with your age.