One of the last projects I worked on at WSU was a video we titled “Frozen Ones.” It depicted a food science professor taste testing different ice cream flavors and providing her expertise on each one. This video was a play on the wildly popular “Hot Ones” show.

“Hot Ones” is pretty simple: Celebrities eat chicken wings coated in hot sauce while answering questions from the host. The hot sauces get progressively spicier as the show goes on. It usually gets to the point where the famous person is drenched in sweat, holding back tears, and cursing in agony.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about the show until we filmed our ice cream video. However, once I watched an episode (Jenna Ortega was the celebrity) to get a better understanding of how we were going to film the WSU video, I was hooked. Sidney and I have since watched numerous episodes and get a kick out of the reactions from the participants while appreciating the thoughtful/quirky questions asked by host Sean Evans.

The first “Hot Ones” episode I ever saw was with Jenna Ortega.

One thing that I picked up on during many of the episodes came after the sweat/tears/agony. Surprisingly, many of the participants described a funny feeling they felt that was actually pleasant. Evans would explain to them that they were feeling a natural hot sauce “high” that he experiences too.

Internally I have contemplated the hot sauce high as I found it pretty interesting. After all, there should be some type of reward after torturing yourself, right? Well, this morning I learned about the science behind the phenomenon.

While running on the treadmill I caught a story from NBC News. The topic was the effects of extreme eating and it zeroed in on the high that is generated from consuming intensely spicy foods.

The expert said that when people, including the celebrities on “Hot Ones,” eat an extremely hot food item, their body senses danger. After successfully consuming that item and thus escaping the threat, the adrenaline from the feat triggers the brain to release endorphins and dopamine. Yes, a true hot sauce high!

I like hot sauce, but not enough to bring on a high. 

I have mentioned before that I am a big fan of spicy foods and hot sauce. However, I do tend to avoid foods/condiments that are so packed with heat that they make me sweat profusely and lose any enjoyment from what I am eating. Because of these personal parameters, I have never consumed anything that gave me a hot sauce high. I think I will keep it that way. Don’t Blink.