SPICY FOODDECONSUMPTION

STUDY

METHODOLOGY

“It is like an explosion in your mouth of taste. All your taste buds tingle and it wakes you up.”

“an extreme taste that later wreaks havoc on my digestive system and first attacks my sinuses.”

“something that gives me a bit of buzz—along with a bit of forehead sweat and decongestant

effect.”

PRIMARY RESEARCH:

WHAT WE DISCOVERED

SUBSTITUTIONS FOR

SPICY FOOD

Carbonated BeveragesCarbohydrates

Other condiments:barbecue sauce, cilantro, soy sauce, pickles,

salt, lime, garlic, onions, cuminCheese

MilkshakesAlcohol

“I drink it straight and its disgusting… ‘cause it burns and I think I miss that burning.”

“yeah, it’s like the bubbles-- going back to the whole party in your mouth thing.”

“…pasta with dinner seemed so ordinary and uncreative.”

“I keep eating pasta and carb-packed foods as a substitute and it's terrible. You feel so weighted down after compared to when you have salads, and when I have to eat "normally" I go straight

for the carbs and fall asleep by 11pm after eating at 9.”

Interviewer:i noticed in your emails that both of you ate more pasta, why

was that?A.S.:maybe to feel fuller? with spicy foods sometimes you get to that threshold and you can't do anymore and pasta is very filling, and

also a comfort foodJ.Q.:when you eat spicy foods you cant eat as much food, so now w/o my nose running and mouth on fire i'd feel the need to eat more

“It was the dessert factor. Since we weren’t engaging our senses through spiciness, we used

dessert and wine.”

OTHER DISCOVERIES

From our participants’ substitutions we found that they strove for a “fullness factor” to reach the same “threshold” that they could reach with spicy food

On a scale of 1 (not important for me) to 5 (very important to me), how important is spicy food to you?

BEFORE:

very very

important _4_ _1_ _ 2 _ _ 1 _ ____ unimportant

AFTER:

very very

important 4 4 unimportant

THE DAY THE STUDY FINISHED PARTICIPANTS ATE THEIR FAVORITE SPICY MEAL

-Chinese take out.-Burrito with fresh red savina habaneros- I had a spicy gardenia salad, with extra

hot peppers and the pepper juice as the dressing.-Chicken relleno - stuffed Poblano pepper

-Eggs, pork and salsa (red)-I had spicy noodle from Royal Thai

-uMMMM, Tacos with green chili Tabasco!

“It really made me appreciate salsa and spiciness…you don’t appreciate something

until it is taken away from you.”

“[At] lunch and dinner I would think about how much better it would be

with something spicy added to it.”

“When my friends gaped in shock thatthey could actually eat what I made.”

“when I couldn’t use spicy scare tactics with my friends.”

Instead of taking the jalapenos or Tabasco out of a regular meal, participants would eat a

completely different food since they couldn’t eat that food with spiciness.

If they couldn’t eat the chips with salsa, they would avoid the chips.

If they couldn’t eat macaroni with jalapenos they wouldn’t eat macaroni.”

“At lunch. It was weird trying to figure out a meal to eat that didn't include hot peppers.”

“Election party fun, I didn't eat the shrimp since I couldn't have the horseradish sauce, nor the

chips/salsa, nor the buffalo wings.”

•Found themselves thinking more about food throughout the day.•Standing in front of the fridge•Longer to peruse menu at restaurants – couldn’t eat their habitual meals at their favorite restaurants•Aimed to “feel full” when eating, which spicy food normally did for them

I think about spicy food “When I am bored and not sure what to eat around the house. ”

“I had way too much time deliberating what I wanted to eat, being at home.”

“I was at a restaurant that had this hot/spicy chicken meal that I was dying to try as soon as I read it on the menu. “

In accordance with our predictions, participants did in fact feel tired without the endorphins that spicy food had provided for them previously.

“Today I feel tired. Also, very indecisive about what to eat.”

“I definitely felt more sluggish. I couldn't exercise at the right times because with the high carb diet

my system just didn't digest it as quickly as it does with spicy foods, and it hurt my

schedule. also, pasta makes you wantto pass out like 2 hrs after dinner.”

FOCUS GROUPCOLLAGES

WHAT WELEARNED FROM

CHEATERS

•Participants felt guilty•Some didn’t realize that their

food was against the rules•Made the most of the moment•Happened about a week into the study

“when I cheated I was actually eating with my sister and she had and what were we eating? We were eating some type of noodle, something simple, but she had put spices, some topatillos on hers and um I’m like can I have a taste of yours and she like gave me then I was like again, again , so she like fed me but umm…I finished her plate.”

M: I was munching around my house and I found some hot nuts and I couldn’t help my self

A: and how did that make you feel?M: I tried to enjoy the moment. But uh yeah I did feel some

guilt after I threw away the bag

“I bought some tortilla soup for the first time in SMU and I did not know it was spicy

until I ate it.”

“I ate a lot of sushi during those two weeks and Dragon roll was really good to eat.”

LOOKING BACK:WHAT WE

WOULD CHANGE

•Further define spicy•Less intense feedback schedule

•Full food list for the day•Study by age group or ethnicity

SPICE UP YOUR LIFE!!