Twenty Something Sense

This weeks guest blog comes from a man with both good genes and a great last name - Eric Harbach. Eric is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been living in Chicago for the past six years working as a consultant at Accenture. His post won’t help you save for retirement, offer you professional advice, or guide you through the treacherous economic waters. Instead he’s chosen to share some practical advice that fits perfect for this blogs tagline “Common sense for your twenties and beyond…” Enjoy!

Too Hot Too Hot!!!!
by Eric Harbach

I ignore the burning in my nostrils and pick up that five alarm hot wing. Within a second of putting it in my mouth a horrible sensation is being sent to my brain. I haven’t even started to taste the actual chicken and my tongue feels like it is burning away.

Put down the water! And don’t even think about grabbing for that Coke Zero (I prefer Diet Coke but some kind of man law that was created does not allow me to drink it anymore). Drinking water or coke to rid yourself of this unbearable burning sensation can actually make it feel worse.

Spicy food usually contains an active component in chili peppers called Capsaicin. Capsaicin is oil based and therefore not water soluble. All water will do is spread the oil around to other parts of your mouth and make the burning even worse. And that nice Coke Zero, well the carbonation within it makes your predicament worse causing the oil to spread even more.

Here are some solutions that will help
- Milk: This is probably the best solution but unfortunately when I’m at a bar with friends and my mouth is burning I usually don’t have a nice glass of milk sitting next to me. Please refer to Diet Coke rule above.
- Yogurt: Please refer to milk
- Lemonade or anything with lime or lemon juice
- Tomato juice
- Rice or bread: Now this you can find especially when you are eating Indian food and you just realized that they make dishes other than Tiki Masala.
- Blue Cheese & Ranch Dressing: If your eating wings this is your best bet. This will almost always be right in front of you sitting next to the celery and carrots. If the burning is that bad don’t bother with the celery or carrots and just dive into the dressing. Trust me, it won’t look nearly as stupid as the my tongue is burning face you are making.

This post may not turn you into a millionaire but it will relieve you of some serious pain that I bet at the time you’d be willing to pay a million dollars to get rid of.