What is going on in my head/brain when I eat a lot of wasabi?

The intense “scalp burning” sensation happens to everyone who eats wasabi. It’s just your sinuses getting a little agitated. It so happens that wasabi and mustard oil is packed with chemicals called isothyocyanates. This chemical is what “burns”. The reason why is the vapors of the chemical trigger nerve response in both your nose and your sinuses. This is the same compound that’s in horseradish. Some restaurants use a mixture of horseradish and green food coloring, with little or no actual wasabi in the mix and this also has the same kick.

Ok that’s awesome and all, so essentially those chemicals are bad for the sinus? (If a ton is eaten?) I mean for me it jolts me up and I can breath again afterwards. Like a steroid dosage of hot sauce or something, only with zing and no spice.

If you have previously been stuffed up, you may suddenly be able to breathe more easily through your nose. Many people believed that wasabi helped open their nasal passages. But U.S. researchers found that eating wasabi appeared to increase congestion in certain people. It makes the space of your nasal passages smaller. This reason could be a perfect excuse to completely avoid wasabi. Having it once in a while is fine, too much of anything is always bad!

If you aren’t uncomfortable after the blast of wasabi I don’t think there’s any reason to think it’s bad for you is there? It might even be good exercise for the affected parts.

My father used to call it “The Poor Man’s Dristan”. It worked, too!

http://www.dristan.com/