Spicy Foods Can Help with Alcohol Cravings

Nutrition icon

Food can be your strategy for when those old cravings come back.

Due to their chemical make-up, spicy foods can be a healthy substitute for when you want to drink.

Let me set up a scenario for you. You’re driving with your friends or family to Buffalo Wild Wings for a weekend dinner get-together. And while you’re driving, what is it that you’re craving and fantasizing about ordering when you arrive? Are you like my wife and I, looking to snack on fried pickles and pretzel bites? Or are you the kind of person that needs to order a giant basket of Blazin’ Carolina Reaper wings? Your answer to that question could determine how well you can handle an entirely different craving, a craving for alcohol.

You might not be aware of it, but there’s something very special about spicy foods for those in recovery. To some people with more delicate palettes, things like turmeric, curry, ginger, and wasabi can leave them with a varying feeling of “spiciness.” However, the real tool to recovery success lies in the pepper family. Save for bell peppers, all peppers (and the sauces we like to make from them) can help satiate alcohol cravings to some degree. This is due to a very special chemical found in them, called capsaicin.

Published

10/17/2022

Category

Nutrition

Fresh spicy peppers growing in a garden

What is Capsaicin?

A secret chemical that can satiate the desire to drink.

What is capsaicin? Capsaicin is essentially what creates that heat sensation and irritation feeling you get when you eat peppers or hot sauce. Though the sensation usually feels “bad” when you first ingest them, the overall effects of this chemical is actually quite good. It’s so good for you however, that most healthcare creams for muscle and skin ache have capsaicin in them. Why? Well, when you apply it to the skin or muscles, capsaicin blocks the pain messages to the nerve endings. This makes it an effective common pain reliever.

When you ingest spicy foods, capsaicin does something even better for the brain. It stimulates the release of endorphins. Endorphins are hormones that are released in your brain when you’re stressed or in pain. They’re the “happy hormones” that your brain uses to naturally balance yourself out emotionally. This essentially means that you can induce “happiness” on a chemical level by eating spicy foods. Now, this doesn’t mean that you’ll be walking on Cloud 9 after downing a twelve piece basket of Jammin’ Jalapeño wings. It does, however, set you in a better headspace to fight your cravings for alcohol.

a woman enjoying a bowl of healthy spicy food

Taking it Deeper

A South Korean study explains the connection between the two.

There’s more to spicy foods’ ability to help with alcohol cravings than just giving you a “better mood.” A study conducted through South Korea’s Pusan National University found an even more vital component to that notion. They found that capsaicin works the same way as alcohol in terms of activating the brain’s opioid/reward system. Receptors in the brain connected to the reward (or opioid) system that are triggered by alcohol consumption are also triggered by ingesting foods with capsaicin in them.

Due to the similar opioid stimulation that capsaicin offers the brain, lead author of the study, Sung-Gon Kim, had a helpful conclusion. He suggested that those in recovery might find spicy foods to work as a sort of “replacement therapy.” Although it wasn’t advised as an ultimate self-treatment, the suggestion does offer uniquely effective holistic options to subsiding alcohol cravings. This suggestion is especially helpful to those fresh out of treatment and in early recovery. This is due to capsaicin’s ability to help with withdrawal symptoms like nausea.

baked chicken wings being dipped in a spicy buffalo sauce

Bad & Good News

If you love spicy food, you have a more active reward system.

Remember the scenario from the beginning? Which type of person are you? If you’re more naturally prone to eating spicy foods, there’s both bad and good news for you. If you love the tingling, burning feeling of capsaicin when you eat, that means you have an easily triggered reward system. This might explain why you’re more prone to addictive substances. It’s the same as our taste buds. If you have more active “sweet” taste buds, you’re more likely to gravitate towards more and more sweet-tasting foods.

The good news is the opposite can be true. If you have a “sweet tooth,” you’ll be more likely to react negatively to overly savory snacks. The same can be said for an easily receptive reward system. Sung-Gon Kim and colleagues also concluded that anti-addiction drugs like Naltrexone could conversely be extremely beneficial to spice-lovers. Naltrexone blocks the euphoric and sedative effects of substances and is commonly used in medication-assisted treatment. So, whether you naturally like to set your mouth on fire or you’re just looking to manage your alcohol cravings, try including more spice in your life.

Conclusion

Key takeaways

  • Save bell peppers, all peppers have capsaicin in them
  • Capsaicin is what creates the heat sensation and irritation feeling when you eat spicy foods
  • Capsaicin is commonly used in pain-relieving skin, joint, and muscle creams
  • Eating spicy foods releases endorphins in the brain that counter stress and pain, improving your mood
  • Capsaicin also stimulates the same opioid receptors in your brain as alcohol
  • If you naturally love spicy foods, you have a easily receptive reward system in your brain
  • Having an easily triggered reward system could mean being more prone to addictive substances
  • Having an easily triggered reward system also means you’re more receptive to anti-addiction drugs like Naltrexone

Challenge

Apply to your life

The next time you’re at Buffalo Wild Wings, order a basket of wings that’s a little spicier than you’re used to. In addition to that, try working things like jalapeños, banana peppers, and hot sauce of any kind into your regular diet. The next time you’re at the grocery store, pick up a couple of jars or bottles of that good ‘ol capsaicin and watch your cravings subside.

Conclusion

Key takeaways

  • Save bell peppers, all peppers have capsaicin in them
  • Capsaicin is what creates the heat sensation and irritation feeling when you eat spicy foods
  • Capsaicin is commonly used in pain-relieving skin, joint, and muscle creams
  • Eating spicy foods releases endorphins in the brain that counter stress and pain, improving your mood
  • Capsaicin also stimulates the same opioid receptors in your brain as alcohol
  • If you naturally love spicy foods, you have a easily receptive reward system in your brain
  • Having an easily triggered reward system could mean being more prone to addictive substances
  • Having an easily triggered reward system also means you’re more receptive to anti-addiction drugs like Naltrexone

Challenge

Apply to your life

The next time you’re at Buffalo Wild Wings, order a basket of wings that’s a little spicier than you’re used to. In addition to that, try working things like jalapeños, banana peppers, and hot sauce of any kind into your regular diet. The next time you’re at the grocery store, pick up a couple of jars or bottles of that good ‘ol capsaicin and watch your cravings subside.

Credit where credit is due

Portions of this article were originally sourced from recoveryranch.com, michealshouse.com, and Granite Mountain Behavioral Healthcare. If you would like to check out additional recovery articles, videos, and podcast episodes, check us out at artisticrecovery.org.

Ty Walker

Ty Walker is a contract copywriter and graphic designer with a huge heart for recovery. He has spent the last five years serving churches and recovery communities with his creative skills. Ty spends his free time writing poetry and fictional short stories as well as hiking, biking, and kayaking with his wife, Angie, and his two daughters, Winter and Ember.

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When you ingest spicy foods, capsaicin does something even better for the brain. It stimulates the release of endorphins. Endorphins are hormones that are released in your brain when you’re stressed or in pain.

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