Scientists confirm drinking milk after eating extra spicy foods

It’s long been said drinking milk after eating spicy food will help numb the burning sensation in your mouth – and now scientists have confirmed the theory.

Researchers discovered both skimmed and whole milk were the best at soothing the unpleasant sensation in the mouth, according to Daily Mail.

They say casein, the protein in milk, dulls the pain by overpowering capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their kick.

And if there’s no milk around, sugary drinks can also overwhelm capsaicin with a sensation of sweet, according to the experts.

The study also found that fizzy drinks and sparkling water were poor at soothing the pain.

Penn State University, Pennsylvania, researchers tested seven drinks in the study involving 72 people.

Participants consumed a spicy cocktail which contained capsaicin.

They then drank water, cola, cherry-flavored Kool-Aid, carbonated water, non-alcoholic beer, skimmed milk or whole milk.

Participants continued to rate how they perceived the burn to be every 10 seconds for two minutes.  

All drinks significantly reduced the burn, but the largest reductions in burn were observed for whole milk, and skim milk.

Following the trials, the participants answered two questions: ‘How often do you consume spicy food?’ and ‘Do you like spicy food?’

Researchers had hoped to see a link between participants’ perception of the burn and their exposure to spicy food.

But no such relationship emerged from the findings.

Lead researcher Alissa Nolden said: ‘We weren’t surprised that our data suggest milk is the best choice to mitigate burn.

‘But we didn’t expect skim milk to be as effective at reducing the burn as whole milk.

‘That appears to mean that the fat context of the beverage is not the critical factor and suggests the presence of protein may be more relevant than lipid content.” she added.

N.H.Kh