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Why do we enjoy spicy food even though it hurts?
ASK A RESEARCHER: It's more than just a burning sensation. Chili has some effects on the body that you might actually want. "You could call it a chili high," says a researcher.
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It may seem quite paradoxical.
Chili and other spicy foods create a burning sensation in the mouth and can make you sweat. Still, stores are full of fiery options, from fresh chilies to ready-made Indian sauces.
So why do we eat something that causes pain and doesn’t seem to have any benefits?
"But there may actually be some," counters Josefine Skaret. She works as a taste expert and project manager at Nofima.
Signals danger or a minor injury
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Chili does more than just create a burning sensation. Skaret has plenty of good reasons why you should eat it.
"Chili kind of tricks our brain into releasing feel-good hormones. And it provides a very intense taste experience," she says.
It's capsaicin that causes this. Capsaicin is actually an anti-grazing substance, according to the Great Norwegian Encyclopedia. It is a plant's defence against being eaten; it smells bad, tastes bad, or causes pain.
"The pain or burning from chili can signal to the body that there is some kind of danger or a minor injury," explains Skaret.
In response, your body starts releasing pain-relieving substances. The goal is to calm the burning sensation. If you have pain in other parts of your body, it can actually help with that for a short time as well, the researcher says.
"For example, if your shoulder hurts, it may feel less intense because your focus is on the pain in your mouth. Endorphins and dopamine are released when you eat chili. They create a feeling of well-being. You could call it a chili high. It's a bit like a runner's high," says Skaret.
That's the good feeling many people experience after a tough workout.
The thrill factor
Chili creates a bit of excitement in the body, explains Skaret. And it’s not just through food that we tend to chase that feeling.
"It's similar to when you watch a horror movie or ride a roller coaster," she says.
Endorphins and dopamine are released in the body. You may experience a deep calm, less anxiety, increased self-confidence, and feel less tired, she explains.
Men are more fond of chili
In fact, it seems that people who are generally thrill-seeking like spicy food more. Skaret describes it as a mild form of risk-taking.
"Some studies suggest that men have a stronger preference for spicy food than women," says Skaret.
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There are several things that can affect how much you crave spicy food.
On a bad day, you might suddenly find yourself wanting something extra spicy, like chili con carne or an Indian curry.
Why spicy food can be so tempting
"Spicy food can be used to regulate stress and mood to some extent," says Skaret.
There is research showing that young women who scored either very low or very high on stress experienced a positive feeling after eating spicy food.
"People get cravings for many different things, and that can include spicy food as well," says Skaret.
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Whether you live in a warm or a cold country can also make a difference. And here’s another paradox: spicy food can create a sensation of cooling you down. It doesn’t actually do that, but it can feel that way because you start to sweat.
"People who live in warm climates often prefer spicy and strongly seasoned food," says Skaret.
She adds that this preference may be more about habit and availability than climate alone. In many countries, people grow up eating spicy food from an early age.
Is it harmful?
At its most intense, the burning sensation can almost feel dangerous. But can eating chili actually harm us? Can it damage our taste buds or even cause us to lose our sense of taste?
"No, it can't," Skaret reassures us. "If you eat something very spicy, your sense of taste may become numb and temporarily reduced. But you can't permanently damage it. Once you eat less spicy food, your sense of taste will return."
As far as Skaret knows, you also won’t get actual burns from chili, no matter how strong it is.
What does happen, though, is that your tolerance increases over time.
Getting used to the heat
Something that feels overwhelmingly spicy today may seem mild in the future if you eat spicy food regularly.
This helps explain why many people find even moderately spicy dishes at Indian restaurants surprisingly intense at first.
Skaret explains that there’s a psychological element to it as well. If spicy food is part of an enjoyable dining experience, you’re more likely to associate it with positive feelings.
Traditional Norwegian food might seem 'spicy'
It's easy to think that Norwegians only discovered spicy food through cuisines from India, Thailand, and Mexico. But that’s not entirely accurate.
While it has taken time to get used to those flavours, Norwegian food itself has long had a reputation among foreigners, says food habits researcher Annechen Bahr Bugge at OsloMet's Consumption Research Norway (SIFO).
Throughout history, Norwegians have preserved food by salting, drying, smoking, and fermenting.
"Traditionally, Norwegian flavours were dominated by sour and salty tastes," she says.
She adds that many people today would likely perceive such food as spicy.
“It reflects how modern life – and the ways we’re able to prepare food – has reshaped our taste preferences," says Bugge.
Spicier than chili?
We also know that Norwegian food was well-seasoned in the Middle Ages, with imports like saffron, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon. You can read more about it in this article.
"Foods like pultost and gammelost might feel spicier to children and young people today than chili-based dishes," says Bugge.
Both pultost and gammelost (old cheese) are sour milk cheeses.
"What we use to season food has changed, and so has our perception of what 'spicy' means," says Bugge.
It also depends on how you define it. If 'spicy' means something that burns on the tongue, pepper has been used for that effect for centuries.
"And rakfisk can certainly burn on your tongue if it's particularly pungent," she says.
Rakfisk is a traditional dish in which fish undergoes a fermentation process.
Bell pepper – a child of chili
Chili is not as widespread in nature as one might think. It’s used almost worldwide today, but it originally comes from South America.
Botanist Heather Arndt Anderson explains how chili peppers have spread in an article on the food site The Splendid Table.
She explains that all the chili varieties we eat today come from a small number of species that have been adapted to different food cultures.
Hungary was one of the first European countries to embrace chili, according to Anderson, though they probably preferred the milder varieties.
"Through breeding and experimentation, they were able to find a milder variety," she explains. And that's how the bell pepper came to be.
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Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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