Super-spicy condiments in your kitchen cupboard could cause agonizing ulcers and stomach ruptures, as well as potentially fatal heart attacks, experts told DailyMail.com.
Doctors say that, for those who are vulnerable, some extra hot sauces on store shelves contain dangerous levels of capsaicin, the chili extract that causes the heat.
For people with an enlarged heart and congenital heart defects, it can be “like putting a bomb in your stomach,” according to Dr. Allan Capin, an emergency physician at the Cleveland Clinic.
At high levels, doctors told DailyMail.com that capsaicin causes an intense pain response that constricts blood vessels, raises blood pressure and increases heart rate. This puts strain on the heart and can lead to a heart attack.
The warnings follow the shocking death of Massachusetts teenager Harris Wolobah, 14, who suffered a fatal heart attack after eating the world’s supposedly spiciest chip as part of a social media challenge.
Harris Wolobah, 14, died last year after attempting the ‘One Chip Challenge’. His autopsy revealed that he suffered a heart attack and suffered a congenital heart defect.
Paqui has been promoting the chip challenge since 2016. The brand, now owned by the Hershey Company, issued a lengthy warning on the coffin-shaped packaging.
An investigation found that the 10th grader suffered from an underlying heart condition that was aggravated by the large dose of capsaicin.
The responsible chip, from snack brand Paqui, has since been removed from shelves.
Experts noted that while it is rare to die from high levels of capsaicin, it is not impossible. They have now warned that other products available to buy could have a similarly disastrous effect.
In addition to Paqui’s chip, several brands of hot sauce containing capsaicin have been promoted as the “world’s hottest,” which could spell trouble for those with heart problems.
The Last Dab Xperience, which is available for purchase at Walmart and the most extreme sauce on the popular YouTube show Hot Ones, is made with Pepper
It scores nearly 2.7 million on the Scoville scale and more than 90 percent of its ingredients include dried, fresh or distilled Pepper X.
And a hot sauce called The End: Flatline, available on Amazon, shows a flat electrocardiogram with the description: ‘This is a warning, and a real warning, not like some of the fun warnings, which we only mean seriously, about our other hot sauces: This is our hottest hot sauce.
And the hottest sauce in the Pepper Palace universe: 2nd Dimension includes over 40 pounds of ghost peppers in every batch.
Harris’ family prays with the Rev. Jonathan Slavinskas during a vigil in Worcester, Massachusetts, on September 8, 2023.
The Last Xperience and The End: Flatline tout being the most popular in the world, with the former scoring over 2.6 million on the Scoville scale.
A Pepper Palace sauce is named the hottest sauce in the universe and contains nearly 40 pounds of ghost peppers in each batch.
‘Combine some of the world’s hottest peppers for a fiery, searing flavor that will burn everything from your palate to your pants. If you are ready to lose your balance completely, then this extremely spicy sauce made with reapers, pepper extract, ghost peppers, scorpion peppers and 7 chocolate douglah peppers is for you.’
Experts say it’s difficult to quantify how much spice is too much, but the key is to take it easy or avoid spices labeled “the world’s hottest.”
The autopsy on Harris, who died in September 2023, revealed that he was born with cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, and a birth defect called myocardial bridging that affects blood flow to the organ.
Dr. James Udelson, chief of cardiology at Tufts Medical Center, told the AP that if someone has “significant stimulation of the heart,” for example after eating very spicy food, the myocardial bypass could cause abnormal blood flow and heartbeats. irregular heartbeats.
“There have been reports of acute toxicity with capsaicin causing ischemia of the heart muscles,” he added.
“Under the right combination of problems like the ones this child appears to have had, it could cause the heart to malfunction the way it did,” Dr. Jack Rubinstein told DailyMail.com.
Paqui, maker of the chip that Harris ate, encouraged people to test their physical limits. Those who can endure the burning pain for up to an hour without eating or drinking earn the title ‘Apex Predator’.
Dr. Jack Rubinstein, a cardiologist and professor of internal medicine at the University of Cincinnati, told DailyMail.com that this is because capsaicin binds to the brain receptor TRPV1, which is activated by extreme heat.
This produces a pain response in the body, causing blood vessels to narrow. This causes heart rate and blood pressure to increase and puts pressure on the heart.
Dr. Rubinstein said that while this can cause discomfort in most people, in patients like Harris it could have more serious consequences. “With the right combination of problems, the heart could malfunction.”
Michelle Routhenstein, preventive cardiology dietitian at Fully nourishedtold DailyMail.com that a sustained elevated heart rate can cause irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias.
“If someone has an underlying heart condition, such as a congenital heart defect, it can cause them to work so hard that they go into cardiac arrest,” he said.
Additionally, he noted that capsaicin can weaken the esophageal sphincters, bands of muscles that open or close the esophagus at either end.
When these become irritated, it can cause acid to back up into the esophagus or acid reflux.
In one of those casesA 47-year-old man in California tore a hole in his esophagus while eating a burger covered in ghost pepper puree.
Dr. Rubinstein noted that while he did not treat Harris, it is possible that neither Harris nor his family knew he had a congenital heart defect. “Most people live and die with a myocardial bypass and never really know they have it unless a problem arises,” he said.
While experts have noted that these cases are rare, some apparently healthy people have experienced severe reactions to high level capsaicin.
In 2012, for example, a healthy 25-year-old man in Türkiye suffered a heart attack and constricted arteries five days after he started taking cayenne pepper pills for weight loss.
However, Dr. Rubinstein pointed to recent research suggesting that capsaicin, in much lower doses, could have health benefits. These include reducing inflammation, reducing pain, and relieving gastrointestinal conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.
“There is pretty strong evidence that low doses of capsaicin, whether ingested or on the skin, can actually protect the heart through a completely different mechanism than what happened to this poor little boy,” he said.
“Actually, it can protect the heart.”
And Dr. Capin warned that while extremely hot sauces, such as those containing ghost peppers, are “very unlikely” to suffer adverse effects. “You’d have to eat a lot of them,” he said.
He estimated that someone weighing about 150 pounds would need to eat three pounds of ghost peppers to cause a fatal reaction. Dr. Capin’s rule of thumb is to eat no more than 1/50 of your weight in hot peppers.
For a 150-pound person, that’s three pounds, or between 40 and 50 peppers; The average ghost pepper weighs 0.3 ounces.
Since the average American weighs 199 pounds, according to the CDC, they would have to eat almost four pounds, approximately 64 peppers.
If you experience a severe reaction to hot peppers or salsa, Dr. Capin warns against drinking a glass of water. This is because capsaicin is oil-based, so it will collide with water and will not relieve any discomfort.
Instead, he recommends having bread, lemonade or milk on hand.