# Spicy food and diarrhea **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2010, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549 "2010-04-01T08:56:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/1 "2010-04-01T08:56:09Z")
Spicy food is well known to cause diarrhea in those who don’t partake regularly. OTOH, I imagine that people in regions where spicy (and very spicy) foods is the norm would have regular stool. What’s mechanism for this? Why does spicy food cause loose stool, and why do people who eat it regularly have regular stool? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/2 "2010-04-01T11:42:01Z")
Actually, although you get used to it to some degree, it is pretty common for people who live in spicy-food regions to have diarrhea on a regular basis. I live in a spicy food area and have not been particularly solid for years. You get used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/3 "2010-04-01T14:17:51Z")
Spicy food causes diarrhea? Cite? 😃 Actually… a cite would be nice, lest we are begging the question. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/4 "2010-04-01T14:49:32Z")
If it has medical basis, it would be on the idea that capsaicin is an irritant, and your body would move it through your digestive system faster. Faster movement of digestible material through your large intestine, and colon, would reduce the amount of water absorbed in that transit, leading to a looser stool. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/5 "2010-04-01T14:56:39Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Actually, although you get used to it to some degree, it is pretty common for people who live in spicy-food regions to have diarrhea on a regular basis. I live in a spicy food area and have not been particularly solid for years. You get used to it. I grew up in a spicy-food family, the rest of whom were born and raised in a spicy food area, and I think you may be assuming that correlation equals causation here. Water quality in many (most?) spicy food areas is extremely poor by Western standards (even by Florida standards, and our water is _awful_). Now, most people don’t drink tap water, but you can’t help swallowing small amounts while brushing your teeth, showering, and so on. I would hazard that this is far more likely to be the cause of regular loose stool (no pun intended) than seasoning. Certainly in Cameroon. Not sure what the water quality is like wherever you are in China. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/6 "2010-04-01T15:34:35Z")
This is all pure anecdote, but when I traveled to Tibet and began eating a blander diet, I felt like something was wrong with my system. Then I realized- I was having solid poops for the first time in over a year! I’m pretty familiar with water-born diseases, and usually these produce acute can’t-leave-the-toilet diarrhea, which I had in Cameroon all the time. But what I’m talking about is a sort of general, daily, runniness paired with occasional and usually pretty manageable urgency, which pretty much everyone I know in Southwest China experiences pretty much all the time. A friend of mine is in the hospital with an anal fissure right now, likely caused by diarrhea. Most of us are pretty careful with our water- we get water distillers, we bleach our vegetables, etc. But the diet is really something else. It’s almost a sure thing, for example, after a night at my city’s unholy spicy duck hot pot that you’ll spend a good chunk of the morning on another kind of pot. I’ll freely admit that it may be the oil, though the aforementioned duck hot pot is not particularly oily. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/7 "2010-04-01T15:45:59Z")
Some afferent gut neurons seem to be very capsaicin-sensitive, especially if they’re not regularly exposed to this molecule which is responsible for the heat of hot peppers. Stimulation of these neurons by capsaicin results in more rapid transit time through the bowel, and hence, diarrhea. An added bonus of rapid transit time is incomplete digestion and absorption of the capsaicin, resulting in the mucus membrane tissues of the terminal gut getting exposed to the same fiery treat. Net result: Burning in, burning out. The latter is also known as “wolf-ass”. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/8 "2010-04-01T15:48:12Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Actually, although you get used to it to some degree, it is pretty common for people who live in spicy-food regions to have diarrhea on a regular basis. I live in a spicy food area and have not been particularly solid for years. You get used to it. I beg to differ. I am an indian living in India and eat spicy food . Diarrhea is caused by unhygienic food,not by spices . In India hotels catering to foreign tourists, do have special menus with minimum spices. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/9 "2010-04-01T16:15:50Z")
Capsaicin irritates the nerves as described below: > [@](#): > > Irritant receptors on cell surfaces. e.g., receptors sensitive to noxious stimuli, such as capsaicin and pH, mediate the release of cytokines and also mediate the release of neuropeptides from sensory nerve fibers, which is known to result in a neurogenic inflammatory processes and hyperalgesia (excessive sensitivity to pain). (Id.; R.O.P. de Campos et al., Systemic treatment with Mycobacterium bovis bacillus calmett - guerin ( BCG ) potentiates kinin B, receptor agonist - induced nociception and oedema formation in the formalin test in mice , Neuropeptides 32(5):393-403 [1998]). The toxin from E. Coli activates the same neurons in a similar way: > [@](#): > > The endotoxin of Escherichia coli significantly activated kinin B 1 receptor-mediated neurogenic and inflammatory pain responses in animals. (M. M. Campos et al., Expression of B 1 kinin receptors mediating paw oedema formalin - induced nociception. Modulation by glucocorticoids , Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 73:812-19 [1995]). So you’re both right. But most folks get used to the capsaicin effect with repeated exposure, and don’t have the inflammatory response in the gut anymore. I know I got used to it. ---
**Author:** ![HeadNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b4bc9f/32.png) [@HeadNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeadNinja)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/10 "2010-04-01T16:26:56Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The latter is also known as “wolf-ass”. Locally we call it the “Ring of Fire.” ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/11 "2010-04-01T17:10:07Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > This is all pure anecdote, but when I traveled to Tibet and began eating a blander diet, I felt like something was wrong with my system. Then I realized- I was having solid poops for the first time in over a year! I’m pretty familiar with water-born diseases, and usually these produce acute can’t-leave-the-toilet diarrhea, which I had in Cameroon all the time. > > But what I’m talking about is a sort of general, daily, runniness paired with occasional and usually pretty manageable urgency, which pretty much everyone I know in Southwest China experiences pretty much all the time. A friend of mine is in the hospital with an anal fissure right now, likely caused by diarrhea. Most of us are pretty careful with our water- we get water distillers, we bleach our vegetables, etc. But the diet is really something else. It’s almost a sure thing, for example, after a night at my city’s unholy spicy duck hot pot that you’ll spend a good chunk of the morning on another kind of pot. > > I’ll freely admit that it may be the oil, though the aforementioned duck hot pot is not particularly oily. I also live in China, and my opinion is that it is the oil. Everything seems to be cooked in oil here. Even the vegetables. Most Chinese fry their vegetables. Most hot pots, especially the spicy ones, are very oily, IME. All that oil just makes everything shoot right through you. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/12 "2010-04-01T17:57:42Z")
> [@HeadNinja](#): > > Locally we call it the “Ring of Fire.” I have embodied “serious Wolf-Ass” before. And just for today too! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/13 "2010-04-01T18:02:49Z")
> [@](#): > > But most folks get used to the capsaicin effect with repeated exposure, and don’t have the inflammatory response in the gut anymore. I know I got used to it. Unfortunately with my Acid reflux getting worse over the years I am going the other way and having cutting back on spices, because waking up with stomach acid in your lungs sucks big time. But hopefully with my weight losing the Acid will become less of a problem and I can go back to Habaneros. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/14 "2010-04-01T18:08:12Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Unfortunately with my Acid reflux getting worse over the years I am going the other way and having cutting back on spices, because waking up with stomach acid in your lungs sucks big time. > > But hopefully with my weight losing the Acid will become less of a problem and I can go back to Habaneros. Refluxing capsaicin is even worse, as it does not respond to acid neutralization. I’ve cut out spicy foods close to bedtime as a result. Having essence of habanero flood my nasal passages at night is even less happy than a case of serious wolf-ass. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/15 "2010-04-01T18:27:04Z")
All of this is anecdotal. But I ate spicy Indian food all my life and never had a problem. In my twenties and thirties I have cut way way down on it and now sometimes I have problems if I eat too much of it. However, it could just be a facet of getting older. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/16 "2010-04-01T19:05:53Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > I also live in China, and my opinion is that it is the oil. > Everything seems to be cooked in oil here. > Even the vegetables. Most Chinese fry their vegetables. > Most hot pots, especially the spicy ones, are very oily, IME. > > All that oil just makes everything shoot right through you. Hm. That would explain the ‘physiological imperative’ after eating tempura or some Vietnamese foods. (I’m not affected that way with Chinese or Indian food.) ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/17 "2010-04-01T19:56:11Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Spicy food causes diarrhea? Cite? 😃 > > Actually… a cite would be nice, lest we are begging the question. My cite is… “Chipotl-away” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/18 "2010-04-01T20:34:31Z")
I can handle my Scoville units… going in, through, and out! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/19 "2010-04-01T21:43:35Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > I can handle my Scoville units… going in, through, and out! But can you handle them on your manhood? Capsaicin-induced urethritis has been described in the literature, and not in happy terms. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/20 "2010-04-01T22:30:45Z")
> [@HeadNinja](#): > > Locally we call it the “Ring of Fire.” Heh. 'Round these parts, it’s known as ‘fire in the hole!’ 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549.md?page=2)