Why Do Skiers Drink Hot Sauce? (And Why You Might Want to Try It)

If you are winter sports fan, or Avid skier You’re probably aware that downhill skiers have a strange habit of eating hot sauce – and surprisingly, they’re not alone.

Eating hot sauce is a habit that skiers and snowboarders now share with fans of many other adrenaline-pumping and physically demanding sports and activities, including Mountain bikers And even Energy cranes. But where did this strange custom come from?

Helps in preparation

Perhaps the simplest explanation for why hot sauce has become a hot topic among skiers is the consumption of spicy foods It can give us a similar release of thrill-seeking adrenaline And other hormones that occur during high-intensity sports, just like skiing and mountain biking.

This doesn’t mean that skiers eat — and even drink — hot sauce just to get a cheap thrill. This hormonal rush produces a natural fight-or-flight response in our bodies, heightening our senses and stimulating us. It prepares our bodies for workBy raising our heart rate and oxygen levels, thus increasing physical endurance, and making us more prepared to perform in stressful, threatening or stressful conditions.

And in downhill skiing—where the skier is often forced to make a fast-moving series of in-the-moment decisions in response to his or her surroundings—it’s easy to understand why this state of mental and physical preparedness can be so beneficial.

General benefits of hot sauce

There are other positives to this hot sauce fetish too, besides our body chemistry. Hot sauces are Naturally Thermogenic, for example, which means it has the ability to raise body temperature. Again, this would have a clear positive impact in the icy environment of snow-capped mountains, and would serve as a cheap and simple source of internal heat, avoiding the worst of winter conditions.

Hot sauce also contains capsaicin (the chemical that naturally gives hot peppers their heat), which has long been known to have a Pain relieving properties It is even used in healing Ointments and ointments To relieve joint and muscle pain. Therefore, consuming hot sauce may also help relieve any bumps, bumps, or injuries that occur while skiing, or mitigate any after-ski effects. ignition In our knees and other joints.

But there is also a more practical explanation here as well. Ski resorts are often located in high-altitude locations, but it has long been known that altitude has a negative impact on our sense of taste, with drier weather and lower air pressure conspiring to reduce the sensitivity of our taste buds by up to a third (This is also why Food tends to taste a little bland on planes.)

Dousing your après-ski meal with hot sauce is, after all, a simple way to enhance the flavors in an environment that isn’t naturally conducive to consuming savory foods.