Why do consuming spicy foods or carbonated drinks and binge eating seem to give us the hiccups?
The root of our hiccups can be traced to spasms in our diaphragm.
The diaphragm is like the forgotten middle child. Resting below the chest but above the abdomen, the diaphragm muscle is probably one of the last body parts you think of at the top of your head. However without it, we could not breathe.
This dome-shaped muscle rests below the lungs, and its expansion and contraction regulates our lung’s breathing. When you inhale, the diaphragm contracts and flattens. As a result, the chest cavity expands, creating a vacuum that sucks air into the lungs. When you exhale, the diaphragm expands and air is pushed out of your lungs.
Hiccups occur when the diaphragm spasms, and each spasm quickly clasps your windpipe to produce a “HIC!” sound, similar to how your middle finger strikes your palm when you snap. Multiple studies have found that hiccups usually only involve the left half of the diaphragm, which also happens to be the portion that partially drapes over the top of the stomach. Because of their close proximity, rapid swelling in the stomach’s size can irritate the diaphragm, causing it to spasm.
This is why drinking or eating too much too quickly can cause hiccups. When drinking soda or seltzers, gasses released by the carbonated liquids can also distend the stomach. In fact, one study proposes that hiccups are an evolutionary reflex triggered by the presence of air in the stomach. This hypothesis would explain why hiccups are common in breastfed infants because hiccuping out the swallowed air would allow the infant to consume more milk.
In addition to size changes in the stomach, neurological disruptions can also cause hiccups. For example, some people hiccup when they eat spicy foods. Capsaicin, a chemical compound found in spicy foods, can activate nerves that control our diaphragm via capsaicin receptors. While there are few studies on hiccups, hiccup’s neurological basis could explain why being startled or scared (i.e. activate your body’s flight or fight response) could “reset” the nerves in the diaphragm and stop hiccups.
How do you stop hiccups? An old Korean wives’ tale calls for drinking water from a cup with a pair of chopsticks criss-crossed over the rim. Here’s my remedy: whenever someone complains of their hiccups, I tell them to prove they have hiccups to me. For some strange reason, they can’t seem to reproduce a hiccup again!
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