Why Some Like it Hot

Matt asked me the other day why some people love spicy food and others don't.  I hypothesized it had to do with where the culture was located.  The populations closer to the equator, and therefore in warmer climates, would want their food hot because it acts as a bacterial deterrent.

And I was right.  Well, at least partially right according to Why Some Like it Hot by Gary Paul Nabhan, "Chilies have chemicals in them that delay food spoilage, or at least mask the smell and taste of spoiled foods.  Furthermore, chilies make the dwellers of scorching climates sweat in a way that cools them off, a sort of poor man's air-conditioning in a fiery red pod.  And finally, chilies supply essential micronutrients and protective antioxidants" (Nabhan, 134).   Furthermore, "Spices fight the bacteria and fungi that spoil meat-based food to the point of making us sick or killing us...this is particularly true in desert and tropical climes where cooked meats rapidly spoil if left unattended or unseasoned.  Like some other spices, chilies cleanse meat of parasites and pathogens before it is cooked and eaten, and chiles contain four kinds of antioxidant capable of repelling microbes even after a dish is prepared: ascorbic acid [Vitamin C], capsaicinoids, flavinoids, and tocopherols [Vitamin E]" (Nabhan, 135).  According to a study by Sherman and Billing, "Thirty-eight spices were used less frequently in vegetable recipes than in meat recipes...[and] the amount of spices used in meat dishes in both the dry and wet tropics are sufficient to kill the particular bacteria and fungi that cause meat to spoil and meat eaters to get sick" (Nabham, 135-136).

Like so many things in life, (and science) there are probably multiple reasons for why some people prefer their food with a kick and others do not.  According to the article Global Warming, capsaicinoids cause pain accompanied by a happy rush of endorphins to counter the pain.  Thus people get addicted to the rush, or rather crave the rush (Global Warming).

I'm just glad I can handle some extra spice in my life.  I like it hot.  Which is why I married my husband.  But that is a whole other story.

Works Cited

"Global Warming." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 18 Dec. 2008. Web. 26 June 2012. http://www.economist.com/node/12792719.

Nabhan, Gary Paul. Why Some like It Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity. Washington: Island/Shearwater, 2004. Print.