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Red Hot researchers spice up Chilli ME Challenge — Live!

Simon submitted a new blog post:

Red Hot researchers spice up Chilli ME Challenge — Live!

Can you take the heat? Join Simon McGrath in support of the Chilli ME Challenge ...

Watch renowned researchers Drs. Ian Lipkin and Mady Hornig take the Chilli ME Challenge, LIVE from New York by webcast this coming Wednesday, 1st July at 1 p.m. EST.



To spice things up, the researchers from Columbia University have promised that the more you give, the hotter the chilli peppers they will eat! And every dollar goes directly to their cutting-edge programme of ME/CFS research.

Some like it hot

Their spice-o-meter currently shows they will be eating spicy jalapeño chillis, and are just shy of taking on red hot Thai chillies. Your gift can make that difference!

The team have made a brilliant trailer for this landmark in researcher engagement:


There's no doubt these two researchers are up for a challenge. When the study they organised ruled out XMRV as the cause of ME/CFS, their response was that something was causing the illness and they wanted to find out what it was. So they embarked on an impressive programme of research, the first fruits of which came this year and made media headlines.

When the NIH turned them down twice for a study of the microbiome in ME/CFS patients, they refused to quit. They reached out to patients with a crowdfunding campaign that raised over $220,000.

Now they are spicing up their efforts with the Chilli ME Challenge, taking the heat for ME/CFS research. As they say, Make This Summer Red Hot for Research.

Dr. Lipkin's Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University, where Dr. Hornig is Director for Translational Research, is one of the world’s largest and most advanced centres in microbe discovery, identification and diagnosis. That makes it perfectly equipped to find out how bacteria, fungi, viruses and toxins (and the immune response to them) might contribute to ME/CFS.

Donate now and put the heat on ME/CFS!

Don't stop at giving. You, too, can eat a hot pepper and challenge others to do the same.
The Chilli ME Challenge




The #chilliMEchallenge is a grassroots global campaign organized by four young women with ME, the 4 Chilis in a Pod. They are encouraging people to eat chillies, post the video online and donate to either Columbia in the U.S. or Invest in ME in the UK (donation page).

The Chilli ME Challenge has a Facebook community and you can see the dozens of videos of chilli-eating for ME on YouTube. Amongst many others, Jen Brea and Lucinda Bateman have risen to the challenge and both nominated Ian Lipkin to do the same. Jen challenged Mady Hornig too, just to make sure.

Now Lipkin and Hornig are responding, and you can watch live.


Columbia's Chilli ME Challenge, LIVE from New York - don't miss it!


Make a note in your diaries: This Wednesday, 1st July at 1 p.m. EST (10 a.m. PDT, 11 a.m. MDT, Noon CDT, 5 p.m. UK, 6 p.m. Europe). Visit Columbia's Chilli page to register for the webcast and even get a reminder.

See you there. And don't forget to donate first if you want them to really feel the heat.






Phoenix Rising is a registered 501 c.(3) non profit. We support ME/CFS and NEID patients through rigorous reporting, reliable information, effective advocacy and the provision of online services which empower patients and help them to cope with their isolation.

There are many ways you can help Phoenix Rising to continue its work. If you feel able to offer your time and talent, we could really use some more authors, proof-readers, fundraisers, technicians etc. We’d also love to expand our Board of Directors. So, if you think you can help in any way then please contact Mark through the Forums.

And don’t forget: you can always support our efforts at no cost to yourself as you shop online! To find out more, visit Phoenix Rising’s Donate page by clicking the button below.

Continue reading the Original Blog Post
 
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This made me cough up another donation! :devil:
Result! And thank you.

How hot? Here's a guide to what your money buys for the lucky boffins, names added courtesy of @Bob. Habanero's are very hot...

chilli-types2.jpg
 
The hottest chilli I have eaten was Jalapeno, I certainly wouldn't want to try any hotter!
I cook with Thai chili pretty often, but it's nicely minced and a rather small amount diffusing into coconut milk for a long time. The only raw chili I've eaten is bell pepper, and I find even baked or fried Jalapeño poppers filled with cheese or cream cheese to be too hot. Though maybe I'd like stuffed Poblanos better :)
 
I had an authentic Thai curry once. It wasn't particularly hot when I ate it, but i spent a very uncomfortable whole night on the toilet with stomach cramps and... (ah well, I suppose i should spare you the details.) :mad: :confused: Considering this, I would never touch a raw chilli!

There's quite a funny chilli challenge video with two teenage girls, Lexi and Jordan. They let the tiniest bit of Tabasco sauce touch their lips and then spend the next five minutes gagging, coughing, spitting into a bucket, groaning, dribbling, pulling faces of disgust, rinsing their mouths with milk and more spitting into a bucket, and asking if their mouths are bleeding. That would be my reaction too. It's very entertaining.

@Valentijn, could you copy your chilli scale from the other thread? I thought that was great - funny, and informative.
 
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OK, I've just watched Lucinda Bateman's video, and she eats a spoonful of wasabi paste (i find even a tiny amount ridiculously hot), and a whole raw jalapeño chilli pepper, and a squirt of hot Thai chilli sauce for good measure! Well, either she is very brave and dedicated, or she is not human and has no pain receptors! The video doesn't show the aftermath - I'd like to have witnessed the next five minutes! :devil:
 
I wimped out and just made a donation. No chili challenge video from me!
There seems to be some debate online about Habanero vs Scotch Bonnet (sort of like Spider Man vs The Incredibly Hulk). The scotch bonnet is definitely the hottest thing I've ever encountered. I recommend a dose of approximately 1 / lifetime.
LOL! :eek: Have you tried one? I have never had one.

Years ago I thought Scotch Bonnet and Habanero were different names for the same chili pepper. :rolleyes: I know better now.

Here's one page I found online (the Habaneros in my grocery store look like item 19) --

http://matadornetwork.com/life/22-worlds-hottest-peppers-eat-them/

I usually buy either jalapenos or serranos for cooking.

PS. Found another helpful pepper list --

http://www.pepperscale.com/hot-pepper-list/
 
LOL! :eek: Have you tried one? I have never had one.
I have! :aghhh: Well, an unknown quantity of one in a veggie chilli I made for my partner and me. I saw them in the store and thought they looked cute so decided to put two of them in the chilli instead of the usual two jalapenos .... good grief. We did manage maybe half a bowl each but at that point I was thinking of calling the emergency services (though not sure which one to request). We sort of looked at each other through the tears and said "enough!".