Several factors all come together to help us acquire a taste for hot foods. There are the social influences of family and community, repeated exposure to capsaicin (which raises tolerance over time), individual differences in physiology, and, interestingly enough, personality traits. These latter aspects are body awareness, sensation seeking desire, sensitivity to rewards and punishments, and just plain liking the heat.
Researchers investigating the relationship between these factors and the consumption of chili-laced foods have found several things.
- Liking spicy foods leads to frequent consumption (Don’t you just love science for always confirming the obvious first?)
- No relationship between eating hot foods and experience of burning discomfort
- No relationship between the burning and personality factors
- Being a sensation-seeking type related to consuming hot foods, but not bland foods
- Seeking a reward experience related strongly to consuming spicy cuisine (Byrnes & Hayes, 2013)
Capsaicin is an interesting chemical. It promotes negative energy balance through increased energy expenditure (Ludy & Mattes, 2011; Ludy, Moore, & Mattes, 2012; Matsumoto et al., 2000; Yoshioka et al., 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004). It increases fat oxidation (Lim et al., 1997; Ludy & Mattes, 2011; Westerterp-Plantenga, Smeets, & Lejeune, 2005; Yoshioka et al., 1995, 1998), and can act as an appetite suppressant (Ludy & Mattes, 2011; Westerterp-Plantenga et al., 2005; Yoshioka et al., 1999, 2004).
I personally enjoy hot food as my personality has a strong openness to experience component, but as an American of middle-European descent—a region of the world known for garlic much more so than hot spice—I’ve had to approach it slowly over the years to now where Tabasco sauce no longer tastes that hot to me. This is rather odd as my case involves both becoming desensitized to capsaicin at a certain amount level and seeking more. Byrnes & Hayes (2013) confirm that personality differences may drive differences in spicy food liking and intake. Their key finding is that sensation seeking did not correlate with non-spicy control foods which means that this trait is specific to spicy foods and not the result of a general interest in food.
Of additional interest is that liking spicy food correlates with the personality trait of reward seeking. Reward seeking has been related to pursuing money, sex, and social status. This may be related to some kind of ego reward mainly in males for publicly demonstrating their tolerance of the painful burning sensation (Rozin, 1990). Being able to stand intensely hot food may be a sign of personal machismo. Lastly, no relationship was found between the personality trait of sensitivity to punishment meaning people do not indulge in fiery eats for the pain.
Paul Shane, Ph.D., LMT
Director, Academic Content
____________________________________
References
Byrnes, N. & Hayes, J. (2013). Personality factors predict food liking and intake. Food Quality and Preference 28, p. 213-221.
Lim, K., Yoshioka, M., Kikuzato, S., Kiyonaga, A., Tanaka, H., & Shindo, M. (1997). Dietary red pepper ingestion increases carbohydrate oxidation at rest and during exercise in runners. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 29(3), p. 355–361.
Ludy, M. & Mattes, R. D. (2012). Comparison of sensory, physiological, personality, and cultural attributes in regular spicy food users and non-users. Appetite 58(1), p. 19–27.
Ludy, M., Moore, G., & Mattes, R. (2012). The effects of capsaicin and capsiate on energy balance: Critical review and meta-analyses of studies in humans. Chemical Senses 37(2), p. 103–121.
Matsumoto, T., Miyawaki, C., Ue, H., Yuasa, T., Miyatsuji, A., & Moritani, T. (2000). Effects of capsaicin-containing yellow curry sauce on sympathetic nervous system activity and diet-induced thermogenesis in lean and obese young women. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology 46(6), p. 309–315.
Rozin, P. (1990). Getting to like the burn of chili pepper: Biological, psychological, and cultural perspectives. In B. Green, F. Mason, & M. Kare (Eds.), Chemical Senses: Irritation (Vol. 2), New York, NY: Dekker, pp. 217–228.
Westerterp-Plantenga, M., Smeets, A., & Lejeune, M. P. (2005). Sensory and gastrointestinal satiety effects of capsaicin on food intake. International Journal of Obesity 29(6), p. 682–688.
Yoshioka, M., Imanaga, M., Ueyama, H., Yamane, M., Kubo, Y., & Boivin, A. (2004). Maximum tolerable dose of red pepper decreases fat intake independently of spicy sensation in the mouth. British Journal of Nutrition 91(6), p. 991–995.
Yoshioka, M., Lim, K., Kikuzato, S., Kiyonaga, A., Tanaka, H., & Shindo, M. (1995). Effects of red-pepper diet on the energy metabolism in men. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology 41(6), p. 647–656.
Yoshioka, M., St-Pierre, S., Drapeau, V., Dionne, I., Doucet, E., & Suzuki, M. (1999). Effects of red pepper on appetite and energy intake. British Journal of Nutrition 82(2), p. 115–123.
Yoshioka, M., St-Pierre, S., Suzuki, M., & Tremblay, A. (1998). Effects of red pepper added to high-fat and high-carbohydrate meals on energy metabolism and substrate utilization in Japanese women. British Journal of Nutrition 80(6), p. 503–510.