How to Build Your Tolerance for Spicy Foods
It can be very frustrating if you are willing and eager to try spicy foods but your taste buds simply won’t cooperate. Don’t worry though, because there are a few methods you can use to gradually build your tolerance for spicy foods. Here are some highly effective ones that you can try.
Take It Slow
Your heart and mind might be set on taking a bite of that jalapeno but if your mouth does not have the tolerance just yet, you will quickly regret it. Take it slow by starting with milder chilies in smaller amounts. Little by little, you can add more spice to your food. This will slowly increase your tolerance. It’s pretty much like bodybuilding except that instead of training your muscles, you are training your taste buds.
Eat Spicy Foods Everyday
Aside from increasing the level of spice in your food, you should also increase the frequency of your spicy meals. The more you expose your mouth to those zesty flavors, the faster your nerve endings will slowly get desensitized, allowing you to tolerate more intense heat.
Keep Coolants Ready
By coolants, we mean foods and drinks that can counter the hot sensation produced by the capsaicin in spicy foods. You want to constantly push your limits if you want to build tolerance but at the same time, you should be able to cool down quickly if it gets painful. Dairy products like milk and yogurt are great coolants, as are starchy foods like bread.
Join Spicy Food Festivals
Exposure to spicy foods is the best way to build tolerance and what better place to give you more exposure than the finest spicy food festivals in your city. These food festivals offer a wide range of spicy foods, from snacks and appetizers with just a slight kick to seriously hot meals that can leave your mouth numb for days.
The path to building tolerance is not the same for everyone. Just have fun in the process, relish all the spicy foods that you will encounter along the way, and if your stomach can’t go to the next level, just enjoy the spicy foods that your body is comfortable with.