There are peppers too hot for human consumption. As many of you know, I’m a hot pepper man. But I came to the reasonable conclusion a few years ago, than anything hotter than a habanero should not be consumed by a human. Some of these peppers, they genuinely use as mace. And some even as a spray or paste to deter elephants, from coming around, in Native lands. There is no enjoyment in them. They will literally make you sick. They can even do you severe bodily harm, including ruining your stomach lining. They have even caused death. Also any pepper above the Scoville heat unit of a Habanero has an exceedingly thin, papery membrane and is not enjoyable, not pleasantly pulpus, even if you could stomach it. As you know I raise hot peppers every year and I put up and can Peppers every year. I’m a little bit of a hot pepper aficionado. I have been told that some of the peppers I put up would be award-winning and are quite delicious. But I no longer put anything any hotter than a Habanero in my garden, much less in my mouth. And when I can Habaneros. Most times I use these Habaneros to season other peppers. When I can Habaneros by themselves, it’s generally to give to the insane. Honestly some of the Habanero’s when eating with the right things and nibbling on them in smaller portions, can legitimately be enjoyable. But I am no longer one of those insane idiots that claims to be able to eat any hot pepper on the planet. And I certainly am not going to do so. There’s a reason they make you sign those waiver papers, to eat some of these things, and wings that they put them on. They are medically dangerous. Take this is advice from somebody who really knows peppers. Let your ego go. Don’t eat anything any hotter than a habanero. And even a Habanero can generally make the average person Mighty miserable. This is meant be a word to the wise. And to save some of you a mighty bad experience.
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gutsisthekey 
A coworker insisted I bring him a Red Savina. I grow one plant and use one pepper when I cook a pound (dry weight) of rice for a friend to make a spicy shrimp dish.
The coworker managed to keep it down, but it was obvious he was EXTREMELY uncomfortable.
He looked genuinely worried when I mentioned that he should take the rest of the day off and head home before it hit his colon…and that like gunshots, peppers can cause exit wounds.
Yes, the extreme nausea with those things cause ate beyond the distress that most people would think. Not even mentioning the pain of Passage. For anything that I want Precision extremely hot, habanero solid enough. I have gotten to the point that I literally warn people even about the Heat those things. When it was just cayenne and Serranos and jalapenos, I thought it was funny to see people squirm a little bit with the heat. But I think it’s medically dangerous to give someone one of those High Scoville heat unit peppers. Never has been a lawsuit yet over that (that I know of) but I bet you it’s coming… nice to hear from you! Slam-
The burn that happens both ways is something to behold. A severe ouch factor is there.
Timothy Grant Carter, is it really true that consumption of hot peppers can cause death? Is it possible that this would only happen with people who have not consumed spicy foods regularly?
It is absolutely true. There are articles in medical journals about the absolutely disastrous effect, including and up to death that the hottest of the hot peppers can cause to humans. Aside from the more common side effects of these insanely hot peppers , such as fainting, collapsing, vomiting , and writhing in the floor in agony.There are also articles about these virulently, hot peppers tearing holes in people’s esophagus, narrowing blood vessels in the brain causing Thunderclap headaches, and causing severe gastric disturbances. Many have been hospitalized and some have even reported heart attack like episodes from eating them.
It is true that to clinically induce death, it would take an absurdly large quantity of capsicun to cause human death. It is true that most people recover from there uncomfortable and agonizing experience, and that there are no General long-term effects, (in most cases). It is also true that high dosages of capsicum can destroy pain receptors in the mouth and what is uncomfortable to others can become comfortable and pleasant to the eater. But balance seems to be the key here. I don’t want to lose taste receptors in my mouth. I want to be able to enjoy the taste of all my food. And yes I raise up peppers. And yes I enjoy them. But I will not put myself through the agony of eating the insanely hot bhut Jolokia or Carolina Reaper again.
My friend, I like to be a plain truth teller. And all my life I have enjoyed hot peppers. Much hotter than most people would enjoy. And yes I enjoy watching The Proud egotistical driven God it says he can eat anything get on with a little bit by a pepper that’s too hot. But being a person a reasonable honesty oh, I cannot say that I like the hottest of the hot peppers. Consuming them is misery. And causing others to consume them could be disastrous and perhaps life threatening.
I’m the Gringo, that goes in most of the Mexican places where they serve up some deliciously hot stuff. And when they figure out I like hot stuff, they try to burn me up. But in the process of being honest with myself, I have come to the honest admission through one-too-many egotistically driven painful experiences, that it is not smart to eat anything hotter than a habanero. I have seen many people who though they may not have died from eating the peppers, thought they were going to. By forcing people to endure this Insanity, I am not helping people to enjoy the true pleasure and health benefits of Hot Stuff consumed with a little moderation in mind. 🙂 Slam-
Timothy Grant Carter, of the various videos I have seen, people who indulge in this sort of thing have survived. Yes, the effects they experience are obvious, however, they live to tell about their experiences.
Medical journal entries, not my writings verify the possible bodily damage of eating peppers that are too hot. And several of them refer to the possibility of death. But arguing about the likely possibility of death was not the purpose of my article. The name of my article was “Hot peppers & Insanity.” Not hot peppers and fatality. Others will continue with the insanity you defend and survive. But I will not join you. And hopefully, I will save a few others from the miserable treachery of an unnecessary horrifically, bad experience. I wish you well. Slam-
Can you explain to me logically how some people seem to survive doing this? Is it possible that their heat threshold has become so high that it would not affect them?
I guess that’s possible. My whole purpose for writing the article was to try to stop people from having unnecessary, unpleasant experiences. Some of the medical articles I read seem to indicate that you can burn up receptors in the mouth, to increase tolerance.
I am of a somewhat different opinion. We seem to agree that over consumption of spicy foods is not the best thing. However, I believe that if a significant tolerance can be built, the effects would probably be minimal.
Timothy Grant Carter, people who do these things and yet have survived the ordeal must be doing something right.
LOL, Your logic Escapes Me. People often Escape dying from the ravages of alcoholism, addiction & many other forms of self-abuse or masochism, but surviving them does not mean that doing them was right or good for them. But I respect your right to your own opinion. You obviously have some vested interest in this opinion…
Yes, glad to do this.
Thank you. Typos can be irritating.
I know that many people can tolerate super hot (spicy) foods and some people that cannot tolerate the heat very well. For the record, I am not saying that your opinion is wrong, just that my opinion is different.
Timothy Grant Carter, I know that tolerance is subjective regarding spicy foods. Many people can tolerate spicy food and many people cannot. One of the hottest sauces I have tasted is Mongoose hot sauce by Cajohns Fiery foods. That is not to be consumed by an inexperienced person.
Haven’t heard of this one. I’ll have to read up on it…
The heat is intense until one can get used to it. When I tasted it for the first time, I added more drops than I meant to. It had me asking for milk immediately. After a few more uses, the heat became tolerable. Be advised that the sauce may have a black pepper taste to it, which is followed up by an immediate heat.
Timothy Grant Carter, I have developed a pretty high tolerance for spicy foods, hot sauces and so on over the years. However, my body knows when it has had enough.
Strange. I’ve been a hot pepper guy but all my life. But I don’t have nearly the tolerance anymore that I used to. Sometimes I think our biochemistry changes a little with age. At least mine has. Good to hear from you my friend.