Everyday Systems

I don't know if it is an age issue, or what is going on, but for years I always stayed away from spicy/hot foods, but within the last month I have been craving spicy/hot foods. I have been dumping Vietnamese hot sauce on dishes, sweet chili sauce, jalapeno stuffed olives, tonight I did something I have never done, ate 4 habanero/mango hot wings from Domino's (Will be doubling up on the Immodium before work tomorrow! ). My wife can't believe what she is seeing.

On the flip side I haven't had a taste for salt. We ate at the Sparks, Nevada In-n-Out Buger (which I generally love) Memorial Day weekend and I could barely finish it seemed so salty.

I must be going through male menopause or something?

As a female who has gone through menopause, I can't say that changes in taste were one of the symptoms, nor were cravings for hot/spicy foods.

I have found that taste buds are changing and that spicy foods are more tolerable now, but I still don't crave or especially like them. They just aren't as unpleasant now as previously.

The flip side of this is that I have less tolerance for fresh herbs. Too much used in a dish doesn't enhance it, but makes it taste too herbaceous. A little goes a long way.

Hi Over43
I thought I'd respond to your post with some information I learned while in massage school.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, each internal yin/yang organ pair which represents one of the 5 elements in nature, has a corresponding, season emotion, body part ruled, and even taste and smell.. sometimes when we crave a certain taste more than others, or even a revulsion to a certain taste, it means there is something going on in that element within us.. possibly an imbalance of energy.

These five elemental pairs and their corresponding related tastes are

Wood: Liver and Gallbladder - Sour
Fire: Heart and Pericardium - Burnt or Bitter
Earth: Spleen and Stomach - Sweet
Metal: Lung and Large Intestine - Spicy
Water: Kidney and Bladder - Salty

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Hi Over43
I thought I'd respond to your post with some information I learned while in massage school.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, each internal yin/yang organ pair which represents one of the 5 elements in nature, has a corresponding, season emotion, body part ruled, and even taste and smell.. sometimes when we crave a certain taste more than others, or even a revulsion to a certain taste, it means there is something going on in that element within us.. possibly an imbalance of energy.

These five elemental pairs and their corresponding related tastes are

Wood: Liver and Gallbladder - Sour
Fire: Heart and Pericardium - Burnt or Bitter
Earth: Spleen and Stomach - Sweet
Metal: Lung and Large Intestine - Spicy
Water: Kidney and Bladder - Salty

Well I have had allergies the last month or so, more than normal for this time of year. That would be lungs...

Thanks for the info.

you're welcome... yes, allergies is related to lung and spice stimulates lung chi, so that's probably why you're craving spice