It’s not uncommon to experience a burning sensation after eating hot peppers, wasabi, or salsa. Generally, spicy foods irritate and dry out the lips, according to Dermatology and Mohs Surgery Center. Salty foods, such as potato chips, cured meats, and smoked fish, have similar effects. While there’s not enough evidence in this regard, researchers believe that salty and spicy foods can indirectly dry out the lips. These products increase thirst, causing you to lick your lips more often than usual. “Salivary glands contain digestive enzymes that might irritate the lips, while moisture evaporating from saliva exacerbates this,” dermatologist Evan Rieder, told Men’s Health.
The UK’s National Health Service recommends cutting down on acidic foods, too. Lemons, oranges, processed meats, dairy, tomatoes, and other acidic foods can irritate your mouth and lips, causing painful lesions. The same goes for cinnamon flavoring, which has an irritating effect on the soft tissues in your mouth.
As mentioned earlier, dehydration can worsen the problem — and that’s one of the many reasons you should drink plenty of water. But make sure you also cut back on dehydrating foods and beverages, including deli meats, chips, pretzels, fried meat products, soda, coffee, and alcohol. Sugary desserts fall into this category, too, notes Well + Good. Coffee, for example, increases urine production due to its diuretic effects, explains a 2016 review published in Medecine Sciences via the National Library of Medicine.
