It’s unlikely that spicy food will ever love you if it doesn’t already. But keep up the good work and continue to eat it regularly because as well as creating the taste sensations you crave, chilli is also good for you.
Some studies suggest that people who consume it regularly are healthier and live longer than non-chilli eaters.
Beyond that, being a chilli-lover can also reveal aspects of your personality to the wider world. Research at Pennsylvania State University, US, suggests that ‘sensation-seekers’ with a sensitivity to reward are more likely than other types of people to turn to foods containing chilli.
Chilli gets its heat from a chemical irritant called capsaicin. This has anti-inflammatory effects and may help to regulate a person’s blood pressure and lower the risk of obesity, although more research is needed in this area. Also, laboratory tests suggest that capsaicin may boost the diversity of gut bacteria.
Capsaicin causes a burning sensation by locking onto a particular type of receptor in the body, including in the mouth and gut.
The TRPV1 receptor is activated by heat and is involved in sending spicy signals to the brain. After an initial burn, TRPV1 activation has an analgesic effect, which explains why capsaicin is present in some over-the-counter creams or gels to treat chronic pain.
When it comes to what we eat, though, researchers have long puzzled over the human fondness for spicy food when most other animals won’t go near capsaicin.
Chilli pepper plants produce the chemical as a deterrent to stop herbivores from munching them. Birds can only tolerate chilli because of mutations in their TRPV1 receptors.
But back to your question: can you improve your body’s tolerance to capsaicin?
There is some truth that a glass of milk may help, at least with mouthburn. In 2022, a team from Pennsylvania State looked into how it can reduce the burning sensation caused by capsaicin and found that milk proteins bind to capsaicin, which may make the substance less available for activating TRPV1 receptors.
In tests on humans, they found capsaicin’s ‘maximum burn intensity’ to decrease in the presence of higher levels of milk proteins called caseins.
Another study from the same university looked at the efficacy of common beverages in reducing capsaicin’s mouth burn.
Tests showed that while all beverages reduced the burn to a certain extent, milk or non-carbonated, sugar-laden drinks were the most effective. Carbonated beverages were not much use, possibly because of their carbonic acid.
Some speculate that fat helps, although studies have shown full-fat milk to be no more effective than skimmed. In tests, increasing the amounts of fat added to both cheese sauce and a starch paste containing capsaicin reduced the burn relative to fat-free products.
This may be because capsaicin is far happier in fat than in water, limiting the number of molecules available to bind to the TRPV1 receptors.
In the same way, eating spicy food with a starchy side, such as bread or rice, may prevent so many of the capsaicin molecules from hitting the receptors.
Read more:
- Why does spicy food taste hot?
- The spice of life: unexpected health benefits hidden in your curry
- I love the taste of curry, but I can’t stand the burn. Can I build up a tolerance to it?
This article is an answer to the question 'Why do I love spicy food, when it doesn’t always love me? What can I do?'
To submit your questions, email us at questions@sciencefocus.com, or message our Facebook, X, or Instagram pages (don't forget to include your name and location).
Check out our ultimate fun facts page for more mind-blowing science.