The ghost pepper, commonly known as bhut jolokia, is a hybrid chili pepper grown in Northeast India. It’s a cross between Capsicum chinense and Capsicum frutescens. However, is it dangerous to consume too many ghost peppers?
In 2016, a man competed in an eating contest and drank six glasses of water to cool down. He vomited so violently that he ripped a hole in his esophagus and had to be transported to the hospital, where doctors discovered his left lung had collapsed. He was hospitalized for 23 days and was discharged with a stomach tube.
Can Ghost Peppers Cause Death?
Some people enjoy raw or pickled jalapenos in almost any type of cuisine at any time of day. When you chew a jalapeno pepper, you release a spicy heat that ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units. However, ingesting a ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia, brings the heat to a new and terrible level.
When you bite into a ghost pepper, your mouth feels intense heat. The intensity of the pepper is registered by your tongue’s receptors, which convey that information to your brain, which interprets the pepper as a searing, pain-inducing intruder. The capsaicin in the ghost pepper starts a chain reaction in your body, causing extensive tissue inflammation and wreaking havoc on your nerve endings, dilating blood vessels, and making you feel hot. You’re suddenly overheated.
Yes, eating ghost peppers can kill you. To die, a 150-pound human must consume 3 pounds of dried and powdered capsaicin-rich peppers such as the ghost pepper. They based their conclusions on data extrapolated from previous studies that assessed capsaicin’s toxicity in animals.
In 2016, a man competing in an eating contest ate a ghost pepper and experienced extreme mouth burning. He drank six glasses of water to chill down, which is one of the worst things you can do after consuming too much pepper. He vomited so much that he ruptured his esophagus.
He was transported to the hospital, where doctors discovered that his left lung had collapsed. According to a Journal of Emergency Medicine report, the man spent 23 days in the hospital and was discharged with a stomach tube. Nonetheless, this appears to be an unusual situation. (Source: How Stuff Works)
Ghost Peppers are Beneficial to Our Health
Limiting yourself to minimal amounts of ghost pepper used to spice other dishes may reap some health benefits. A 2-gram serving has 4% of your daily vitamin C requirement, and the capsaicin found in ghost peppers has medical benefits such as lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar, and protection against certain types of cancer. Eating spicy foods, such as chili peppers, can also increase your metabolism, which may aid in weight loss.
Despite these health benefits, experts warn of one genuine risk that ghost peppers can cause before you eat them. Because the oils they contain are so hot that merely touching a pepper can cause severe burns, you should only attempt to prepare them with gloves, goggles, and possibly even a hazmat suit. Otherwise, you’re likely to experience a haunting encounter with suffering that is anything but a phantom. (Source: Mashed)