We all probably know someone (often ourselves) who loves spicy foods. Everything they eat either comes with hot sauce or is smothered in chilies.
For people who don’t eat this way, the practice can seem a little strange. Why would you deliberately eat foods that cause pain?
Interestingly, it’s not just because of how chilies taste. In fact, most are too spicy for the majority of people to detect the flavour accurately anyway. Instead, it’s all to do with endorphins, chemicals that the brain releases.
What Makes Chilies Hot?
Chilli’s taste hot because they contain a compound called capsaicin. This substance irritates the sensory receptors in the mouth, causing them to send pain signals to the brain when people eat spicy foods.
Despite the fact that it hurts, capsaicin is actually good for the body. People who eat a lot of chilies tend to have lower inflammation levels and live longer.
You can also adapt to capsaicin levels. With repeated exposure, chilies deplete the chemicals that send pain signals to the brain via the nerves. That’s why some people can eat hotter foods than others.
Why Do People Fall In Love With Chilies?
Interestingly, though, the people who eat chilies aren’t necessarily experiencing anything less intense. Instead, people who eat spicy foods experience a hedonic shift. Chilli’s originally produced spicy compounds to deter animals from eating them. But some people are able to enjoy the experience, a bit like saunas or ice baths.
The fact that some people enjoy chilies highlights the link between pain and pleasure. People who ate spicy foods in childhood are much more likely to enjoy them as adults. Hot food lovers also tend to have thrill-seeking personalities, meaning that they are more inclined to live experimentally, and at the edge of their comfort zones.
With that said, chile lovers run the spectrum. You can find hot sauce and cayenne in classic vegan recipes and food that meat lovers enjoy. There are no boundaries.
Can People Who Dislike Spice Train Themselves To Like It Over Time?
Even if you didn’t grow up eating spicy food, you can still train yourself to enjoy it over time. While it feels a little unpleasant at first, it slowly becomes more enjoyable.
If you’re trying to enjoy it more, start off slow. Add a little cayenne to your next meal, or chilli flakes, and see if it helps. Try eating chilli with your favourite recipes so that you begin associating it with pleasure. Then, over time, you can make the shift to eating it more widely, no matter what’s put in front of you at the dinner table.
Overall, eating chilli is good for you. For instance, research shows that capsaicin is one of the most powerful suppressors of age-related inflammation. However, if you have ulcers or IBD, you’ll need to be careful. Chilli could worsen the lining of an already-damaged gut.
In summary, the reason people eat chilies is that they make them happy. It’s just that they make them happy in an unexpected way.
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This is a contributed post.
