It's hot today. Why do I still want to eat hot food?
Asked by
Kardamom (
33292
)
July 3rd, 2014
It seems like I should be craving some sort of cool salad, but instead I feel like eating Mexican food, as I often do when it’s really hot, and I’m not necessarily talking about spicy, just food that’s cooked and served hot. I finally broke down and went out to find some cheese enchiladas and a potato taco.
I just drank about a gallon of iced tea, so I definitely don’t crave hot drinks, just hot food.
Also, when it’s cold, that’s when I prefer to eat ice cream. I never crave ice cream when it’s hot outside. I eat most of my ice cream during the winter months. I don’t eat a lot of ice cream to begin with, but when there’s pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas, that’s when I’m mostly likely to eat ice cream. It just goes so well with pie.
Why do I want hot food when it’s hot and ice cream when it’s cold?
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10 Answers
It’ll make you sweat? Look at the food eaten in India, South America etc. Often hot (temperature and taste) and spicy.
Other than that – no idea. I’m cold. I want a baked potato. I’ll probably have a sandwich.
@Earthbound_Misfit That’s odd, because I’m already sweating and have been all day. Inside the house (no air-conditioning) it’s in the mid-90’s.
I’d love to fix you a tater and a sandwich.
Feeling hot occurs when the external temperature exceeds internal temperature. Your body is actually trying to get the temps more equal, so you will feel less discomfort.
Maybe your body craves the salt. Assuming the hot dishes you crave are saltier than the cold ones.
Why do you think the external temperature has anything to do with the kind of food you are craving?
Warming your insides is bringing you closer to the external temp. Less difference between the two temps, the less discomfort. That’s why , when someone is freezing to death, they eventually stop feeling the cold. Their internal temp is becomming closer to the temperature around them.
It is the difference in temperature which causes the discomfort, a safety mechanism which is true for all warm blooded creatures.
Ah, that makes sense! I’ve heard that in very hot countries, the traditional non-alcoholic drink is to serve hot tea.
I do the same thing, with reason being I can drink a frosty cocktail with it.
Making your body hotter to match the hot temperature outside makes no sense to me at all. That sounds like a big old wives tale like sweat out a fever. Being too hot isn’t good for you. You lose water and electrolytes, and if your actual internal temperature goes up you have a fever and can get heat stroke. Using external factors to keep our internal temperature is prudent. Not that a warm meal is going to be disasterous in any way, I am just talking about the basic concept of being hot and trying to stay cool. Cool relatively speaking. I love being warm, give me 80 degree weather any day.
I believe that Cliff Clavin covered this topic. ;-)
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