# Can horseradish cause an actual burn?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-horseradish-cause-an-actual-burn/616199>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 19, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-horseradish-cause-an-actual-burn/616199 "2012-03-19T04:35:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-horseradish-cause-an-actual-burn/616199/22 "2022-05-20T20:19:28Z")

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> [@lobotomyboy63](#):
>
> I read somewhere that in India, where the spice level of dishes (Scoville scale) can be hot enough to take your head off, they have very few intestinal parasites because of the parasites can’t take the heat. Just saying that there may be a side benefit to go along with a cost.

It can’t be much of a benefit.

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, approximately 21 per cent of India’s population may be infected with intestinal parasites such as soil-transmitted helminths[1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5719595/#ref1).”

[Temporal trends of intestinal parasites in patients attending a tertiary care hospital in south India: A seven-year retrospective analysis - PMC](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5719595/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20World%20Health,disability%20adjusted%20life%20years2).

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