We have all been there before. We order a spicy Szechuan dish or ask for extra hot sauce on our burritos. One bite in, and we instantly regret our decisions. Our mouth starts to burn, and we’re frantically looking for water to help cool it.
But that’s the worst thing you can do in that situation.
Drinking water does not easy the burning sensation in your mouth at all. According to The American Chemical Society, a chemical compound known as capsaicin is responsible for the burning sensation in your mouth after eating spicy foods. It binds to the pain receptors in your mouth, which triggers reactions such as tearing up or a runny nose.
Because of capsaicin is a non-polar molecule, it takes another non-polar molecule to help dissolve it. Water is polar and it will make the heat in your mouth worse because it will spread the capsaicin around your mouth.
Here are a list of foods to eat to cool a burning mouth:
Milk is the most commonly used food to cool a burning mouth. After that, it’s yogurt. In addition to what’s listed above, eating breads will also help ease the burning sensation.
The video below takes a deeper dive into why milk works so well and why water doesn’t work. Take a look if you’re intellectually curious.
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