Why Some People Love Spicy Food and Others Can’t Handle It

A offered some insight on spicy food lovers in this piece for Eat This, Not That!:

Despite all that, many people truly enjoy spicy food, and many are able to tolerate “hotter” food than others. Why is that? The short answer is that everyone’s bodies and sensory perceptions are different. As Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN of Maya Feller Nutrition, explains: “The spiciness from different foods is based on the individual food’s heat index, as well as a person’s individual taste receptors. So one person may be incredibly sensitive, where another finds a scotch bonnet pepper as mild as a bell pepper.” Cultural influence and basic personal preference also play a role. “People have likes and dislikes as well as cultural food pathways that introduce them to varying degrees of spicy foods from a young age,” Feller says.