The rush of the heat?

They cause the release endorphins (not sure i spelled that correctly) by your body which causes a natural high situation so thats how they could be linked being addictive. Ok now try to google to see if i can find something:
ok found what i was looking for
" People that eat lots of spicy capsaicin-rich foods build up a tolerance to it. The incentive: Once a person has become somewhat desensitized to the extreme heat of the "hotter" Chiles, he or she can starts on a new culinary journey. Not being over powered by the heat factor, the palate now has the ability to explore the many diverse flavors offered by the myriad of different Chiles that are currently available from around the world. Also for some Chile-Heads a good jolt of capsaicin excites the nervous system into producing endorphins, which promote a pleasant sense of well-being that can last several hours. The endorphin lift or "high", makes spicy foods mildly addictive and for some, an obsession. "

at
http://ushotstuff.com/Heat.Scale.htm

I crave tomatoes too--all day, every day, more than chocolates or candy--and I think peppers fall into the same category.

In addition to the heat, and the lovely endorphin rushes that result, it could be the wonderful vitamins in these Solanaceae fruit that causes cravings.

Maybe it's the same drive that wants fast calories from sweets that wants fast vitamins in one small, tasty package. At some point during our evolution, I think we developed cravings for the highly nutritious or caloric foods that helped us survive.

It would also explain why no one craves rice cakes.

simple...

Endorphins (or more correctly Endomorphines) are endogenous opioid biochemical compounds. They are peptides produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a sense of well-being. In other words, they might work as "natural pain killers."

Smoking? You mean like smoking some beef right?

I read, somewhere, that if you are allergic to
some foods they will make you "crave" them. I'm allergic
to Citrus and would eat oranges every day, BUT the
Lupus Like symptoms I get from them discourage mass
consumption. You may be allergic to members of the
tomato, eggplant, pepper, group.

ButchT

You crave them because your an idiot.
That what my wife tells me atleast.
I know Im going to be needing to pack my butt in ice cream the next day and Ill sweat up a storm wiping my brow with every bite and complain about the heat and burn the whole time, but still reach for another bite.
My wife just says Im an idiot and a glutton for punishment, since she is always right (she told me so and if I didnt belive her I could just ask her and she would tell me again), I have to assume your an idiot too.

ROTFLMAO

grvtykllr, your not married to my S.I.L. are you?
LMAO.

ButchT

Hey, that sounds like my wife!

I remind her that she said yes to good times and bad times.

A guy at work asked me if I like punches in my face as well. If you gotta ask, then you won't understand!

All I know is that it feels SO GOOD to be an idiot sometimes. :)

"Posted by harleysilo 7 Roswell,GA (My Page) on Mon, Apr 2, 07 at 12:24

Smoking? You mean like smoking some beef right?"

Yeah, what we do is cold smoke with your faviorite brand of wood and or spices like a dash of Rosemary or Basil and then finish them off in a food dehydrator of a real low oven till they are nice and dry and then take a good spice grinder and turn them into a powder.

It's great stuff to have in a little shaker bottle when you need to boost the heat level.

Plus if you do some large batches you can also use one of those vaccume sealers and seal and freeze the larger part of it so it will last a long time.

Safety note...Best do the grinding outside as there's a little blow back when grinding, powdered peppers are just like tear gas, fact is powdered Habenero has been banned in 19 countries by the Geneva convention.

I guess powdered Trinidad Scorpion would be a WMD.

the original post got my attention. Deansfba mentioned having asthma and craving both peppers and tomato...

I buy Trappeys pickled Tabasco peppers and put 4 to 6 whole peppers into vegetable soup. Jalapenos are usually too mild for me. I love Habanero hot sauces also, but the Tabasco seems to hit home for me, Serrano coming in second best. I also crave V-8 juice and will drink 32 oz at a time. I also put Rotel diced tomato with green chilies into the vegetable soup!

I have really wondered why I developed this craving and like Deansfba, I also have a breathing issue. I was diagnosed with Emphysema 4 years ago. I also have developed high blood pressure as a complication to the Emphysema. I have pondered the thought of this craving being related to the lung disease or blood pressure issue. Ive always liked peppers, but never "needed" to eat them daily until getting this illness.

Most likely it is because you are low on a specific type of vitamins. jalapenos have a lot of vitamins and are also a good source of dietary fiber.

It means you have crossed over to the dark side..........there is no going back.

It is rumoured the cayenne chili is the world's best super food.

After years of curiosity led researching..

I think it has good reason to be as it's effects on the body seem to be of intelligent design.

Yours truthfully

Carolina Reaper

Lol

The second I think about hot peppers I start salivating, literally, and NEED to eat some. I read somewhere that the heat makes you release endorphins(the happy hormone), and you get semi-addicted....not to the point where you have withdrawals, but where you crave them and don't stop thinking about them till you satisfy that need!

I too have asthma, plus MS, vertigo & severe allergies to just about every type of tree & grass. I wonder if the pepper craving IS related to the respiratory ailments.... IDK, but I do know this... I LOVE hot peppers. The hotter the better IMHO. Has anyone tried the Flashbang sauce that Pepper Palace carries? It is made with several super hots, incl Reaper, Scorpion, Bhut & a couple others. It also has pure capsaicin extract in it. I did their taste challenge, and it was surprisingly delish! The lady behind the counter just looked at me like she couldn't believe that I didn't even so much as break a sweat... She told me she's seen grown men cry from the challenge, and that she never figured that little 5' nothin me would have aced it, lol

The chilli has infact over a thousand beneficial effects on the body.

Capsaicin triggers a release of a mix of chemicals and endorphins which are beneficial for releasing stress and tension on the body and mind.Certain endorphins act like a pain killer and are very effective indeed.These chemicals also trigger therapeutic healing effects.

It's an expectorant.Helps clean and remove mucous from the lungs and body also.

It is anti-inflammatory which can help allergic symptoms.

You wouldn't think it but most common allergies are triggered by large proteins molecules In The body which the body does not recognise so it reacts to get rid of the risk of infection and unnatural reactions in the body.

Being allergic to chilies or don't like hot foods are the only major reasons to not eat.

Habanero pepper and the Carolina Reaper sauce ... I can never ever get enough.

Maybe the acids in the peppers and eggplant help to make the minerals stored in your body more bioavailable. If you eat a lot of cereal, then you probably get a lot of oxide minerals in your system that aren't very bioavailable (and eating plants in the Solanaceae family might help to you to absorb them better).