Why does spicy food make your nose runny?
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Spicy food actually works by tricking your body’s heat receptors into thinking there’s more heat than there really is. Your nose being runny is your body trying to direct more fluid circulating in/around your mouth to get rid of that heat. It’s the same reason you sweat, your body is just trying to protect itself from a threat that isn’t really there
Spicy food contains a chemical called capsaicin that tricks your brain into thinking it’s in danger, causing your nose to produce extra mucus to protect itself.
Capsaicinoids bind to the TRPV1 receptor in mammals to simulate the body’s response to overheating, resulting in sweating and other cooling attempts. https://youtu.be/DbluR1DhTSQ
capsaicin found in the membrane of the pepper causes irritation in the eyes, leading to a watery response. Depending on the person and the level of exposure, one may experience no change, mild increase of tears, up to full on rolling tears without even directly touching the eyes. Assuming a mild increase of tears, the excess tears dain from the eyes, through the tear ducts and into the nose.
I literally saw this 2 days ago. It’s only about two mins long and very informative
Tldr at bottom.
Basically there are some foods, such as spicy foods that contain capsacin, that will trigger a nerve in your face called the trigeminal nerve. This makes the brain think that there is something toxic in our mouths of brain (technically there is as the capsacin is something plants make to stop them being eaten!). So the brain sends a signal back down the trigeminal nerve to make your nose run and help clear away the substance from our upper airways.
It’s not just chilli containing food that can cause it. Wasabi creates that heat sensation by a different mechanism can do it too. Some people find raw onion or garlic will make their noses run aswell
Tldr: brain is told by mouth that bad thing is in there. Mouth and nose are connected. Brain tells nose to star running to help clear any bad bits that waft up there in the air floating between the mouth and nose to help clear away the nasty thing
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