Alcohol Burns Because it Alters Heat Receptors in Your Mouth
Do you recall the first whisky shot you ever took? Perhaps vodka? You remember feeling a burning pain in your mouth and throat and wondering why the hell people harm themselves. And after that, depending on how you felt about becoming wasted, did you either never drink again or just enough to barely feel the burn? We're not here to discuss your opinions on drinking; instead, we're interested in the burn you experience when you consume alcohol. Ever ponder why alcohol burns precisely?
Strangely enough, alcohol and hot peppers have extremely comparable effects on the brain. Although neither feels warm to the touch, eating them causes your lips and throat to feel warm to your brain. That is due to a structure known as a vanilloid receptor. Alcohol decreases the heat tolerance of these receptors in your mouth when it comes into touch with alcohol. Since they consider anything about 42 C or 107 F to be hot, your mouth will typically burn since you just ate something hot. However, ethanol drastically reduces this tolerance to just 34 C, or 93 F. Your body temperature is 98.6 F or 37 C, which is an issue.
Anywhere the alcohol touches will feel like fire since your body has now activated your heat receptors, leading your brain to believe you are drinking fire. Once the alcohol is gone, everything returns to normal.
