Eating Spicy Foods: Prep And Recovery Tips

If your taste buds crave something spicy, but you can’t handle the heat, don’t worry; there are remedies to help you manage. Eating spicy food is a must, especially if you’re a foodie. There are just too many delicious dishes from worldwide cuisines that you should never miss out on.

Unfortunately, some people suffer from a burning tongue and mouth sensation or even a stomach ache after eating spicy dishes. The key here is to create a balance of spice and know the right game plan to approach it. When you’ve prepared well and learned some recovery tips, you won’t need to rely on pills or medication after a spicy meal.

Learning some tips and tricks to prevent stomach burning after eating spicy foods is valuable to building up a diverse palate. Here are some of them:

Don’t Eat Spicy Food In An Empty Stomach

Torching your palate will seem more tolerable if your stomach is filled with some other foods. It’s best to have a light meal or dish before consuming anything spicy. This is the best preparation tip that you should follow. The acids in your spicy dish won’t have to hurt your empty belly because some carbs and other nutrients are already protecting it.

If you have a spicy main dish, it’s best to eat an appetizer or drink some milk beforehand. Avoid gut bombs by eating an appetizer beforehand. Many food options are easy to digest, so you won’t feel bloated easily. It can be a small portion of meat, bread, or other grains. Overall, the key is to pad your belly before consuming spicy foods.

Gradually Build Up Your Heat Tolerance Level

This next preparatory tip might not be doable for a day. It should come with time, effort, and practice. The best way to eat spicy food is to gradually build your tolerance level to heat. If you eat an incredibly spicy dish and you’re not accustomed to anything spicy, you can expect to suffer from an extreme burning sensation and even an upset stomach. Hence, the best approach is to first eat spicy foods at the lowest level and gradually work your way up.

You can start with some tinier portions of spicy dishes. And prepare some relief aid nearby just in case you can’t tolerate an upper level of heat suddenly. The strategy here is to make your taste buds and stomach gets accustomed to more spice.

Eat Something Sweet

Eating something sweet is one of the most common remedies for alleviating a burning sensation after eating spicy food. You may believe that sweetness counterbalances spiciness, and there’s a sense of truth. Try to consume some sugar or honey after eating spicy food. This trick works because sweets can absorb the oil-based capsaicin, usually in the spice.

For a quick remedy, you may gulp a glass of water with a spoonful of sugar or honey. You can prepare this beside your meal if you’re working on your heat tolerance or anticipating a spicy level that you haven’t tried yet. You may also go for some dessert, sugar cube, chocolates, or ice cream after the meal since these foods are sweet and can help alleviate the burning feeling.

Go For Dairy

This tip is another common trick for those who can’t tolerate as much heat as they want. You can only prepare so much ahead of time, so prepare some dairy in your meal if you’re going to eat a spicy dish. Dairy is a famous magical solution for many spicy food eaters. If your mouth feels burning, sip some cold milk or eat a spoonful of yogurt to calm it down.

Milk contains a casein protein that breaks up capsaicin and relieves its effects. If you can’t handle spicy foods, milk will calm you down. While many people automatically drink water after eating something spicy, that doesn’t work as milk does. Unlike water, milk can repel the capsaicin content in spice. It works by preventing the pain receptors in the mouth from receiving capsaicin.

Also, since dairy contains fat, it’s easier to be bound with capsaicin. Go for whole milk so you can mediate your spiciness right away. Milk fat will remove any capsaicin that hasn’t attached to your nerve endings. However, before consuming dairy, check if you’re suffering from food intolerance since some people are lactose intolerant.

Chew On A Bubble Gum

You might be able to neutralize spicy foods in your stomach when you chew bubble gum after the meal. Even though research on this subject matter has been limited, it’s been proven effective for those who usually do it. Heartburn is reduced when people with acid reflux regularly chew some gum for at least 20 minutes after eating.

The saliva in your mouth increases when you chew gum, and the saliva contains bicarbonate, which can help the acid in your stomach. Hence, the more you swallow your saliva, your stomach will be cleared from the acid content.

Conclusion

Eating spicy foods should be an enjoyable experience; it shouldn’t be dreadful. With the cheat sheet above, you can now better prepare and resolve your dilemma about eating spicy foods.

To get immediate relief, try one of the remedies listed above. You’ll surely be able to enjoy the essential hot sauces in the world and many spicy dishes after.