經常吃辣對身體有害處嗎?

The delicious burn of a really good curry or salsa or Sichuanese hot pot – that fiery goodness that makes you sweat and flush – is for many people one of life's great pleasures.

對很多人來說，人生最大的樂趣，莫過於品嚐美味的正宗咖喱、莎莎或者四川火鍋，那種燃情的美味會讓人汗流浹背，臉漲得通紅。

The search for the most profound scorch is a hobby of sorts, perhaps even an obsession.

尋找最深處的焦灼感是一種愛好，甚至可能是一種癡迷。

And hot-hunters are safe in the knowledge that although capsaicin, the spicy molecule in hot peppers, is activating receptors in pain neurons in their mouths, it's not really causing any damage.

逐辣者明白，儘管紅辣椒中的辣分子-辣椒素-會激活食用者嘴部的痛感神經，但它並不會造成任何傷害。

Give it a few minutes, and the feeling that you've torched yourself will fade.

過幾分鐘，那種點燃你的感覺就會慢慢消退。

Well, until someone gets hurt.

然而，直到有人受傷。

Chillies are rated on a spiciness scale known as Scoville – a grading of heat that goes from the lowly bell pepper (0) right up to the fearsomely named Carolina Reaper (2.2 million).

辣椒根據辛辣度（也就是衆所周知的辣度單位）進行分級，辣度最低的是甜椒(0)，最高的是令人生畏的卡羅萊納死神辣椒（220萬）。

And while everyday amounts of spicy food are unlikely to do any harm, thrill-seekers have had some disconcerting experiences.

儘管每天大量被攝入的辛辣食品不太可能會造成傷害，但是追逐刺激者確實有一些令人不安的經歷。

In 2014, two journalists from The Argus, a newspaper in the British city of Brighton, went to test out burgers at a local restaurant rated highly on TripAdvisor.

2014年，兩名來自英國布萊頓當地報紙《阿格斯》的記者，前往《旅行指南》高度評價的一家當地餐廳進行漢堡試吃。

They each took a bite of the XXX Hot Chilli Burger, a specialty of the house made with hot sauce touted by the owner to score higher on the Scoville scale than pepper spray.

他們每人嚐了一口XXX麻辣漢堡（這款漢堡的辣醬是店主配製的特色醬，在辣度單位上的得分高於辣椒噴霧）。

The pain was unendurable – one reporter immediately swallowed a great deal of milk to try to stave it off, the newspaper reported.

這次嘗試帶來的痛苦讓人難以忍受-據報道，一名記者馬上吞下大量牛奶，想要緩解痛苦。

The other began to have severe stomach pains, lost the feeling in his hands, and began to shake and hyperventilate.

另外一名記者開始出現嚴重的胃部疼痛，手部麻木，開始顫抖，大口呼吸。

His colleague was also seized with pain despite his efforts, and both had to go to the hospital. "I was in so much pain," one said, "I felt like I was dying."

儘管做出了努力，他的同事仍然飽受疼痛，兩個人都不得不去醫院。其中一個人說道："我感到如此痛苦。我覺得我正在死去。"

Let's come back to the basic biology of capsaicin. This molecule may have evolved as an anti-fungal agent for the plants that bore it.

讓我們回顧一下辣椒素這一基本生物體。這種分子（辣椒素）可能已經演化爲培育它的植物的抗真菌劑。

But, to humans' joy and fascination and fear, it happens to activate certain neurons responsible for the perception of pain.

但是，對於人類的喜悅、着迷和恐懼而言，它恰巧激活了負責接收痛覺的特定神經元。

Those particular neurons send a message of heat to the brain, whether the cells are activated by an actual burn or by a hot pepper.

無論細胞是否是被真實的燃燒或者辣椒激活的，那些特別的神經元向大腦發出火熱的信號。

The physical effects of eating peppers can be seen as reactions to what might be — from the body's perspective — real burns, says Bruce Bryant, a biologist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. Sweating is an adaptation for cooling off.

費城莫奈爾化學感官中心生物學家布魯恩說，從身體的角度而言，吃辣椒產生的生理效果和真實燃燒是相同的。出汗是降溫的一種自適應反應。

Triggered pain neurons release substances that cause blood vessels to widen, resulting in inflammation, the better to supply the damaged area with blood and the body's first responders.

被觸發的疼痛神經元將釋放引起血管擴張的物質，導致炎症，這樣可以爲受損的區域更好的提供血液。這是身體的第一反應。

When that Carolina Reaper hits your stomach lining and you retch, "that response is because there are pain-sensing nerve endings in the stomach", says Bryant.

布魯恩說："當卡羅萊納死神辣椒接觸你的胃黏膜時，你會覺得噁心。之所以有這種反應，是因爲你的胃裏有痛感神經。

"The body says, 'I don't care if it's a thermal burn or a chemical, but I'm going to get rid of it.'"

你的身體說'我不在乎這是熱灼傷或是化學灼傷，但是我要擺脫它。'"

The responses that your body might have if you'd swallowed a caustic substance come into play with high levels of capsaicin because that is, after all, what the molecule mimics.

你吞下腐蝕性物質後，身體做出的反應可能和吞下高水平辣椒素的反應一樣，畢竟這是種分子模擬。

Those burn-sensing neurons, in your mouth, stomach, and elsewhere, are going to do their thing whether what you've swallowed will really kill you or just give you some discomfort on the toilet.

那些你嘴裏，胃裏和身體各處感受燒灼感的神經元，將會開始它們的行動，無論你吞下的東西是否真的會殺死你，或者只是讓你產生一些不適。

But, hours or a day or so of very serious discomfort aside, there don't seem to be long-term dangers, per se, in eating very hot peppers.

但是，就吃辣椒而言，除了幾個小時、一天或者幾天很嚴重的不適外，本質上並沒有長期的危險。

Biologists have observed, however, that administering capsaicin over long periods of time in young mammals does result in the death of the pain neurons, Bryant says.

然而，布魯恩說，生物學家已經觀察到，在年輕的哺乳動物中長時間施用辣椒素，確實會導致疼痛神經元死亡。