Man Is Accused of 'Cheating' in Eating Competition Due to Having a Genetically High Tolerance for Spicy Food Moná ThomasSeptember 12, 2025 at 6:44 PM 3 Getty Hot Chicken Wings A Redditor with a rare spice tolerance said they won a hot pepper contest at a local wing spot Friends said it was "cheating...
- - Man Is Accused of 'Cheating' in Eating Competition Due to Having a Genetically High Tolerance for Spicy Food
Moná ThomasSeptember 12, 2025 at 6:44 PM
3
Getty
Hot Chicken Wings -
A Redditor with a rare spice tolerance said they won a hot pepper contest at a local wing spot
Friends said it was "cheating," but commenters insisted the win was fair
The poster joked they've been blessed by the "chicken wing gods" and must conquer more contests
A Reddit user is questioning whether their unusual spice tolerance gave them an unfair advantage in a recent hot pepper-eating contest.
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, the original poster, or OP, explained on the "Am I the A------?" subreddit that their local restaurant hosted a spicy food competition with free wings as the prize. Thanks to a genetic quirk, they said they don't feel the burn from capsaicin, the active component of chili peppers, the way most people do.
"I entered the competition and won the coupons, but my friends are now telling me that I cheated and I should have let 'normal' people compete," OP wrote. "The wings are sooooooo good though."
John Normile/Getty
Geoffrey Esper, Miki Sudo, Joey Chestnut and Nick Wehry take part in the National Chicken Wing Eating Contest
The user later joked in an edit that they were blessed by the "chicken wing gods" and should now set off on a "holy pilgrimage to all hot pepper contests in the Fire Nation." They also clarified a frequently asked question: No, the spice tolerance doesn't cause pain anywhere else in their body, "nor on the way out."
Commenters quickly reassured the OP that their win wasn't dishonest. Many suggested it was no different than someone with a natural talent competing in any other contest.
"Congrats. You are the Michael Phelps of chicken wings," wrote one commenter. "If he wasn't cheating by having a genetic advantage when it comes to swimming, you weren't cheating by having a genetic advantage when it comes to spicy food."
A Redditor weighed in on a more science-based explanation for the spice tolerance, writing, "He has some kind of mutation to his TRPV1 receptors. Spiciness isn't a taste, it's actually an irritant response. Kind of like an allergic reaction but without a true immune response. Basically it triggers these TRPV1 receptors and tricks the body in experiencing an irritant as neurological pain similar to extreme heat."
The commenter went on to claim that this mutation allows carriers to eat ridiculously spicy foods, such as chillis, "mostly without negative effects" because the foods aren't damaging any bodily functions, but mostly "your pain receptors are just acting as if they are."
Other Redditors pointed out advantages to this particular mutation that could even get him into the entertainment industry. "I feel like there must be a Food Network or Travel Channel producer who's yet to realize how much they need you," a commenter proposed. "Better yet, there's absolutely a YouTube show just waiting to be created by you."
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Source: "AOL Lifestyle"
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