in a recent post, [log in to unmask] makes the interesting comment regarding
spices:

>I think the fact that spices are toxic is easily demonstrated
>by the runny nose when eating a curry. The alfactory glands are
>getting a real sting from the aroma alone and telling you not
>to eat the spice. Little kids do not like curries etc... it is
>a cultured and aquired eating habit. Doubt an ape or
>any wild creature would reproduce this behaviour or accept any
>spice.

I used to believe that running sinuses were a sure sign that a food is bad.
However I have come to realize that one must distinguish between a food
that creates mucus, and one that removes it, especially by "cutting through"
mucus and dissolving it (as mucus flow can result from both types of food).

I notice that when I eat something that is too hot for me (like the marinated
eggplant at last month's potluck), my sinuses do run. However, what comes out
is very thin, clear fluid - water, basically, not mucus. This suggests that
the hot stuff actually is cutting through the mucus and removing it - but, in
my case there is little or no mucus to remove, so only water comes out. Also,
some traditional medicine systems use spices to remove excess mucus from
the system. Finally, note that excess use of cayenne and other hot spices,
can actually irritate the stomach and intestinal linings - suggesting that they
can strip away the (thick) mucus lining the stomach, so stripping the thin
mucus from the sinuses is a distinct possibility.

Also, I notice a similar sinus clearing effect from drinking celery juice, if
I add lot of lime juice to it. Of course, that is cooling, but the lime juice
does not generate mucus - it cuts through it and aids in the removal of mucus.
So the effect of the spices and lime (on mucus) is similar, but one is
heating, and the other cooling.

The difference between mucus removing and mucus forming foods can be seen in
my reaction to avocados and nuts. I love them, but if I eat too many nuts, too
much avocado, or I eat the right amount but eat too fast, they produce mucus.
That is, I experience thick yellow (nuts) or green (avocado) mucus immediately
after eating them. The mucus seems to come straight up from the stomach, not
the sinuses. So, eaten incorrectly those foods create mucus for me. (But I
like them and eat them anyway - carefully, and in moderation.)

So the lime/spices cause mucus flow by cutting through the existing mucus, and
removing it, while the nuts/avocadoes eaten too fast actually appear to create
mucus. Both foods result in mucus output, but one removes, while the other
generates mucus.

Thanks for your comments!

Tom Billings
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