Has anyone else lost their tolerance for heat?

[okie sawbones]

I haven't been sick. No immunizations for years. I always liked Thai food at +3 spice. Ate my chili topped with pickled jalapeno peppers. Loved jalapeno poppers. Even ate Jamaican jerk chicken with scotch bonnet peppers.

Now, suddenly, I can no longer tolerate any spicy heat. It is painful, burning my mouth for 10 minutes with just a touch of jalapeno pepper. I asked my dentist about it, but he had no clue. It sucks being me.

 

[millerbuilds]

Just mentioned the same thing on another post. Following COVID, I have my sense of smell and taste back, however my tolerance for Spicy foods has diminished, I find myself having to remove seeds and veins from even Jalapenos, ordering my Thai food and indian at a spice level of "1"....

I chalked it up to COVID.

- Jason

 

[uncle eddie]

Bummer - Heat is neat!

No idea and have not heard this one before. But based on all the other crap that is happening in this world...I have to wonder if a bug bite or something else that you would not notice made you sensitive.

Is it all heat or just a specific trigger?

 

[Astralogics]

I'd cry if I lost my spice tolerance, it's that final kick that makes food addicting. Especially since it's a big part of my daily life.

Has anything changed for you recently? Diet, routine, etc?

 

[ajbert]

This is why we moved from the gulf coast back to Colorado in the mountains after I retired out of the Navy.

Oh, wait, different type of heat tolerance.

It happened to my dad in his early 70s. He was a full blooded Cajun through and through. We were the only family in CO that ate spicy Cajun food 3-4 times a week. Being a wee bit of child I still had to eat. Tears didn't help my case. I did eventually develop a like for spicy foods.

However, when my dad would stay with us and I would cook, I always made something spicy. He complained but I reminded him what he did to us as kids. What is that saying about payback being something or other?

And this was in fun, not revenge. I don't need people tell me I'm a mean SOB. I heard it more than enough while I was in the Navy.

 

[normanaj]

Yes and no.

I've done a lot of stupid sh!t when it comes to peppers and I just don't need to light myself up like that anymore.I still grow the reapers,scorpions,habeneros and I now dehydrate and make "death" powder out of them some of which I keep some but most gets donated to my local bar/grill.

 

[JIMSMOKES]

Yes and no.

I still grow the reapers,scorpions,habeneros and I now dehydrate and make "death" powder out of them some of which I keep some but most gets donated to my local bar/grill.

I did this when I kept a garden. My dry rub hot wings were dangerous.
Had friends say I thought you said these were hot. I'd smile and say wait till you stop eatin them.

 

[jcam222]

For me it's a matter of how often I have spice. In times if making super hot sauces my tolerance becomes high as I eat it often daily. I haven't so much this winter and notice that things that is usually consider whimpy have more of a bite.

 

[DougE]

For me it's a matter of how often I have spice. In times if making super hot sauces my tolerance becomes high as I eat it often daily. I haven't so much this winter and notice that things that is usually consider whimpy have more of a bite.

Been my experience over the years as well. If I regularly eat hot (spicy) stuff, I become immune to the heat and can tolerate hotter and hotter stuff but if I refrain from it for awhile, it kind of does a reset of my taste buds. Stuff I didn't find hot, all of a sudden is.

 

[wisejudy]

I haven't been sick. No immunizations for years. I always liked Thai food at +3 spice. Ate my chili topped with pickled jalapeno peppers. Loved jalapeno poppers. Even ate Jamaican jerk chicken with scotch bonnet peppers.

Now, suddenly, I can no longer tolerate any spicy heat. It is painful, burning my mouth for 10 minutes with just a touch of jalapeno pepper. I asked my dentist about it, but he had no clue. It sucks being me.

I had Covid before anything was avail. I didn't have respiratory issues, but one of the things that happened was I lost my sense of smell and taste. It took months before I could even eat regular mustard on a burger because of the heat. Now, I was a heat fanatic before. I have yellow sauce I order that is super hot that I loved with grilled chicken. I added heat to all my food. I have come a long way, but I am nowhere near where I was, even today. I buy medium salsa or make a medium salsa and that seems a little hot to me. I bought hot for me before. Mild for the hubs. It gets better, but it is not the same. I blame Covid. I've had it mildly a couple of times since the first time and the first symptom is losing my taste and smell. It has taken a couple of years to rebound somewhat.

 

[bigfurmn]

I have never been a fan of super spicy. Once it went from adding flavor to bring hot but to make my rear end hurt I was done. AKA I'm a wimp lol. I love a flavorful heat but at some point I just go, nope I'm good

 

[Hijack73]

I ate too much spicy stuff when I was young. I still use cayenne and red pepper flake, but sparingly (comparatively speaking - the kids think I cook 'hot' sometimes) because I no longer care for it. It doesn't make my manhood any more potent, and as God as my witness (flame on lol), we all know sometimes it becomes a swinging wiener contest. See below!

Plus, acid reflux really sucked after I would overdo it on heat before I started on omeprazole. That was when I really just couldn't handle it any longer. Last time I entered into the swinging contest, I got beat out by this absolutely gorgeous Asian lady I worked with. The accounting department used to order Thai a lot and they would invite me up, she was always kicking it on the next to highest level, and one day I was like, "Tina, just get me the exact same thing you are having" - she tried to talk me out of it. I wish I'd listened. I sat there like a little red Santa just pouring sweat while everyone except for Tina laughed at me, she just kind of smiled and kept on eating. I backed down to level 2 right quick! I caught hell for about 2 years for that one.

 

[912smoker]

I have recently found out I can tolerate and like more heat than years past.
Wife says my taste buds are also getting old. I am hooked on the Melinda sauces. Haven't tried the Ghost Pepper ...not that brave yet!

Keith

 

[JLinza]

My only thought is, over time your taste buds can change ( or so they say) maybe something to do with that? But I'm no doctor. That's a real bummer though. Here in CO we ( at least me) like a good spice. And most things you find here are pepper based not silly spiced water. Hopefully it's only temporary.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I have always been a chile head but I too seem to be less tolerant lately.

 

[DRKsmoking]

Same here to a certain extent. Because the family here is not hot happy, I try to calm it down. To the point that when I make it just for me , I find it almost ( almost lol ) a little over board.

So I guess I have turned down my comfortable and enjoyable heat level a notch or two.

But still like the tingle of a good chili and sausages. Just in moderation.

David

 

[normanaj]

I am hooked on the Melinda sauces. Haven't tried the Ghost Pepper ...not that brave yet!

Keith

I pretty much have every single Melinda's product in my house! My everyday go-to is the Red Savina,the Ghost and Scorpion are more or less the same heat level but to me the Scorpion has a little edge in heat and flavor.

If you're a ketchup user their's is my favorite and no corn syrup to boot. The habenero ketchup is liquid gold,when I find it I literally buy every bottle in the store because you never know when you'll find it again.

 

[bill ace 350]

I have.
Never had covid.
Ghost peppers were the hottest ones for me that still had good flavor.
Don't know if the last ones I had were unusually hot or what...

Habenaro is about as hot as I can go now.

 

[hoity toit]

I haven't been sick. No immunizations for years. I always liked Thai food at +3 spice. Ate my chili topped with pickled jalapeno peppers. Loved jalapeno poppers. Even ate Jamaican jerk chicken with scotch bonnet peppers.

Now, suddenly, I can no longer tolerate any spicy heat. It is painful, burning my mouth for 10 minutes with just a touch of jalapeno pepper. I asked my dentist about it, but he had no clue. It sucks being me.

Means your gettin old like me...

 

[chef k-dude]

It varies for people and the reasons for it can be elusive. As I've gotten older, my spice tolerance has reduced, but I think that's the common sense that comes with age...or something. I've just gotten to a point where punishing heat heat level just isn't fun anymore. I use red pepper flakes in a lot of my cooking as well as hot sauce, but I use Texas Pete mostly, I can squirt that stuff right in my mouth, but I'm done trying to eat ghost and habanero pepper level hot. Love the flavor of habanero, I just wish it wasn't murderously hot.

When I would go to Thai places, I always stepped all over my food with the spice tray, to the point it would draw attention because I coughed the entire time. One time the wife and I went to a small place where it was a Thai immigrant brother and sister, brother cooked, sister ran the front. I ordered drunken noodles..."Thai hot". Sweet lady said, "are you sure, issa really hot!". I said absolutely, I like my food to make me cry. I could smell the plate when she turned the corner at the kitchen, this was not "hot", it was insanity. It didn't make me cry, it puckered up every possible orifice in my body that could release fluid. I think bieng water-boarded would have felt better! at least it would have been water!

Done with that. I like it spicy, but I like to also breathe.