Aspies and High/Low Tolerance for Spice?

Post Reply New Topic

I've always had a low tolerance for spice. Sometimes even mild salsa can become too overwhelming for me. I just tried curry for the first time in my life about two months ago, since I was under the impression that they are all really spicy. (My boyfriend managed to convince me that it wasn't and to try it... after two previous, unsuccessful occasions where he ordered it and I refused to even taste it.) I pretty much don't even bother with most Indian foods (or food from other spice-heavy cultures) because sometimes even "non-spicy" spices like ordinary pepper seem "hot" to me.

I wonder if it has to do with touch sensitivities. I know that the perception of spice is a modification of pain perception, but it's a bit odd as I normally have a high tolerance to pain (but low tolerance for not only spice, but also for tickling, which seems related to pain perception, too.) I also know that reaction to spice can be developed, usually by your culture.

Either way, it makes me wonder, what do you guys think about spicy foods? Love them? Hate them? Don't even respond to them? How do other people in the AS community react to spice?

Interesting comparison of spicy foods to tickling, I think you might be onto something!

My experience is somewhat unusual, in that my tolerance for spicy foods abruptly reversed itself about a year ago. Prior to that time, I loved spicy foods! Indian, Mexican, and Thai were my favorites. I was such a big fan of habanero hot sauce that I got tired of paying $4 a bottle at the store, and began growing my own hot peppers and bottling my own hot sauce recipe by the gallon!

Then I switched to a new doctor, and the doc looked at my history of chronic health problems and switched me over to a gluten-free diet. Practically overnight my craving for spicy foods vanished! Now I tend to eat very plain, simply-flavored food (oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, maybe a little onion/garlic/herbs) although I still occasionally enjoy the intricate flavors of an Indian curry (but I don't order it extra-spicy any more).

I don't like spicy food. Sometimes things are too spicy for me when other people think it's not spicy at all. Last night my mother made hot dogs and bought beanless chili to put on them. She didn't think it was spicy but I didn't even use it because it was too spicy for me.

Interesting, the poll results are all over the place. I voted for the final option. I'll drink vinegar and take the cinnamon challenge anyday.

Sensory overload. Get a bad reaction to anything spicy. And people do question me when they see that i don't add salt or pepper to anything.

I see this behavior in several of my friends/family, especially with breakfast food. They will add 1 cream and 2 sugars to their coffee, salt and 3 dashes of tabasco to their eggs, and 1 pat of butter and 3 drizzles of syrup to their pancakes--all before they have actually tasted their coffee, eggs, or pancakes.

A friend of mine from China says that this is a huge insult in his culture, to season your food at the table implies that the chef has not seasoned it properly in the kitchen!

I guess it is just a personality thing, and the gentleman in question's job interview test was designed to (in his mind) identify a certain personality type he wants to hire for his business.

[Moved from General Autism Discussion to Random Discussion]

For me, hot isn't a flavour. I like a bit of a burn, but I find streaming eyes and a running nose while trying to eat something not to my liking to put it nicely. So somewhere before that happens, suits me fine. I know guys who eat Habeneros and I've been to a chilli fair with someone who ate a Naga Jolokia while they were there, I couldn't help but laugh. Seriously don't do that, it's not pleasant to watch.

I absolutely love spicy food! I put hot sauce on a lot of foods I eat - burritos, pizza, ramen, even grilled cheese sandwiches! Oh and speaking of ramen, I always buy the spicy variety. So yes, I put hot sauce on my spicy ramen! I also love jalapenos and I put them in my cheeseburgers.