Some like it hot: Preference for temperature and pungency consumption is associated with sensitivity to noxious heat

Abstract

BackgroundIndividuals vary in their temperature and pungency preferences; whereas some individuals prefer to bath in, or consume food and beverages at very high temperatures, others prefer lukewarm temperatures. Similarly, pungent food may be preferred by some, but not by others. The aim was to investigate, for the first time whether temperature and pungency preferences are associated with variations in thermal sensitivity or ethnic origin related to pungency consumption.Methods115 healthy volunteers participated. The thresholds for warm (WST) and heat‐pain (HPT) sensations were measured over the tongue and dorsal hand, and the participants’ preferred drinking and bath temperatures were measured. In addition, data on the participants’ ethnic background as well as temperature and pungency preferences and household habits regarding eating, drinking and bathing were collected.ResultsThe reported drinking and bathing preferences correlated significantly with the measured drinking and bath temperatures, respectively, validating subjects’ reports. Tongue and hand HPT, but not WST, correlated with both the reported and the measured drinking and bathing preferences, as well as with pungency preferences. Neither ethnic origin nor gender affected HPT or temperature preferences; however, males preferred a greater level of spiciness than females.ConclusionsThe association of the reported and measured preferences with noxious heat sensitivity in both relevant and irrelevant body regions, and lack of an ethnicity effect may suggest that these qualities are innate. The association of HPT and spiciness preferences correspond with the mutual activation of the tongue vanilloid receptors by noxious heat and capsaicin.SignificancePeople vary with regard to their temperature and spiciness preferences for reasons yet unknown. The study revealed that these preferences correlate with one another and were associated with the sensitivity to noxious heat but not with age, gender and cultural background, which suggests that they may be innate.

Chili pepper preference development and its impact on dietary intake: A narrative review

“…The overall spice levels (no heat/ mild, medium, spicy, very spicy) significantly differed by gender as well, CMH χ 2 = 12.6; p = 0.01 ( 35 ). As shown in Table 1 , Defrin, Logue, Smith, and Castillo-Carandang's findings also agreed with this trend, with males preferring a higher degree of spiciness compared with females ( 33 , 40 , 45 ). Alternatively, Stevenson and Yeomans ( 36 ) study found conflicting liking scores.…”

“…But ethnicity, however, does not always predict spicy food use. One of Ludy and Mattes's ( 24 ) non-spicy food users was Asian American, and Defrin ( 40 ) found that subjects from different ethnic backgrounds in Israel did not differ significantly in their frequency of spicy food consumption, p = 0.15. These results suggest that spicy food consumption is high in some Asian countries, the US, and Mexico, but consumption frequency varies from person to person.…”

“…The wide range of chili pepper preferences is evident within and across countries, especially within the Asian continent. Defrin et al ( 40 ) conducted a study in Israel, and 54.5% of the subjects reported consuming spicy foods regularly, but 22.9% of the total sample preferred no spice, and the other 17.4% preferred the highest degree of spice. Contrasts for spicy preferences are seen between Thai and Japanese as well.…”