When we eat something spicy, why does sucking in air through the mouth temporarily subsides the hotness while blowing out makes it much worse?
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The chemicals in spicy food (piperin in pepper, capsaicin in chillies) tricks your body into thinking you’ve received a burn as it activates the burn receptors on your tongue.
When you’re actually burnt, you want to cool down the burnt area, not heat it up. Breathing in soothes the area since the ambient air is cooler than your skin, breathing out doesn’t since the air in your lungs has been heated by your body.
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