If variety is the spice of life, then for some, a hot chilli dish is the ultimate way to add spice to life. But outside of the Mexican fiesta party happening inside your mouth and the waterworks from your sweat glands, could there be some benefits for your health? It's time to turn up the heat on chillies as I look at the science and health benefits linked t ... Show More
Jun 1
Tea, L‑theanine and a calmer mind
After water, tea is the most popular drink in the world. We turn to it for comfort, for a break in the day, and increasingly, for its claimed mood‑calming powers. Scroll through social media and you’ll find no shortage of claims that tea, or more so one of its bioactive compounds ... Show More
11m 31s
Mar 2026
How berries help build a better brain
One of the best guides to food variety is colour. And for colour, there’s a group of natural plant chemicals called anthocyanins that are getting a lot of attention for their potential benefits on the brain. Anthocyanins are the pigments that give red, purple, and blue plants the ... Show More
13m 9s
Jul 2022
Spice, Spice, Baby! Why Some Of Us Enjoy The Pain Of Spicy Foods
Today, we talk about spicy food and its intersection with pleasure and pain as part of our "Taste Buddies" series — Short Wave's ode to "taste." In this episode, Host Emily Kwong talks to food reporter Ruth Tam and researchers Julie Yu and Nadia Byrnes about the science behind ou ... Show More
14m 15s
