Feel the Burn

Standard

image

Typically, when someone is talking about , ‘Feeling the burn’, they are referring to the euphoric high of an intense workout. The one that makes each breath of oxygen fuel your muscles, so that you can continue to get in one more set, one more rep, or maybe just one more step. The burn is the production and build up of lactic acid.

IMG_20141220_135041_730

High intensity exercise can cause an endorphin rush much like the intake of Capsaicin, which is an active component in chilie peppers and is said to promote weight loss. It is also an anti fungal.

IMG_20141220_142357_527

I am known as a chili head. I enjoy the burn of hot peppers, sauces, seasonings and all things chili. I have been busy grinding dried Mulato, Ancho, Ghost, New Mex., Chococlate Habanero, and Fatali chilies. I mix this with a few seasonings and use it as a topical addition for eggs, soups, meats, you name it.

IMG_20141220_192924_452

These Fatali peppers are one of my favorites for their citrus like flavor. I am wearing gloves due to the oils that are present on these chilies. The vast majority of the heat is not in the seeds, as some people think, but in the membrane or placenta, that holds the seeds.

image (1)

I recently took a stab at making my own pepper sauce. It turned out rather well. I made my first batch with Jalapenos and Poblanos. These were fermented in a brine solution with yogurt culture to help create the process. After about six weeks, I added vinegar, a few final seasonings, ran half the batch through a berry strainer, and my first bottle of hot sauce was born.

IMG_20141223_142408_178

There was a point where we had to vacate the premises and air it out, due to the overwhelming fumes. This gave us ample time for some great Mexican food at my favorite restaurant.

Whether you choose to explore the use of capsaicin as a topical for pain relief, the ingestion of more spice for health reasons, (circulation), or just grab a bottle of chipotle sauce for flavor, I hope you enjoy your experience as much as I have enjoyed sharing mine with you.

Feel the Burn!

In fitness, Bob

6 thoughts on “Feel the Burn”

  3. I love this post! I made a habanero hot sauce one year, from peppers I grew on my deck – they thrived in the sun there! I have found that the more hot stuff I eat, the more I want! Lately, since in the Midwest instead of the Southwest, my heat tolerance has gone down…

    i

    Like

    • The endorphin rush that capsaicin invokes, is the same as a drug high. Your brain craves more. This is a good thing when it comes to heat though. The benefits range from inflammation to fat burning. Pretty good trade off as far as I’m concerned. And yes, it would be difficult keeping a Southwestern diet going in the rural Midwest. (sigh)

      Liked by 1 person

      • When I was pregnant with my son, I craved green chili like nothing I’d ever craved before. Seriously, I had to have some every few days or I didn’t feel well. I’d eat some and bingo, be right back to normal.

        I always thought the burn meant when your muscles literally burn when exercising.Maybe I’ve never done enough to get endorphins, although I used to do quite a bit of long distance biking.

        Like

      • Typically the burn is referring to the muscle burn of lactic acid. I was using it as kind of an intro. The same thing can come from the desire to finish a long distance ride, even when you just don’t want to continue. The bystander that pulls a victim from a fire or from a wreck. Receptors in the brain that cause us to do or achieve what we normally would or could not.
        I’m making a note for a new post topic though.
        That’s a funny story about craving chili verde. I wonder if it was just a food craving or if the heat had something to do with it.

        Like

Leave a comment