Capsaisin and Love

Posted by Timothy Dzurilla Feb 10, 2008

Spicy food is a great way to heat up your Valentine's Day for two reasons: it gets the blood flowing, and it is the perfect way to show off in front of a potential mate.

Capsaisin, the chemical that makes peppers spicy, locks onto nerve receptors and cause nerves to send messages of pain to the brain. This causes a chain reaction leading to an increased production of endorphins which leads to an increase in blood flow.

If you are interested in getting someone "hot-blooded" this Valentine's Day, you may want to try a spicy recipe; just don't get too excited with the heat that it becomes a turn off.

Besides getting the blood flowing, spicy foods can effectively heat up your Valentine's night another way: as an awe-inspiring feat of physical strength.

Men are biologically programmed to show off their physical prowess for potential mates. One way is by demonstrating a high tolerance for pain (as a small sociological experiment, keep track of how many bottles of hot sauce are in your guy friends' houses versus your girl friends').

The only problem with this is the consumption of overly spicy food makes men seem like dolts rather than tough guys.

For more information on spicy peppers, including heat levels, check out this article on common Latin Chilis.

For dinner, my favorite spicy romantic recipes are Spicy Tequila Shrimp or Jerk Chicken.