Less coffee, less sweat: it’s not just the heat that makes us sweat

Many foods contain natural stimulants. In our mouth, these clamp on to nerve receptors that normally tell us there’s an injury or burn. Capsaicin is responsible for this in peppers, capsicum and cayenne peppers. Mustard oils are found in mustard, wasabi, and horseradish. “If we eat too much, the brain is informed that the body needs to be cooled,” Wolfensperger says. The blood circulation is stimulated and the blood vessels dilate. “This leads to an increase in body temperature. You start sweating to cool off.”

Caffeine stimulates the nervous system and stimulates blood circulation. This leads to a brief increase in blood pressure and heart rate. “The effect is similar to that of spicy food,” Wolfensperger says. “The increased performance of our circuit is causing a rise in temperature. Sweat helps keep us cool again.” This also means that the less caffeine we consume, the less we sweat.

In countries where it is often very hot for long periods of time, for example India or Turkey, a lot of hot tea is drunk. “Hot drinks stimulate our sweat production and allow our bodies to cool down,” says Wolfensperger. Cold drinks signal to the body that it needs to warm up. “Drinking hot drinks on hot days makes sense.”