# 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:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/21 "2010-04-01T23:20:02Z")
> [@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. So is it the spices or the bacterial environment? Sven, do an experiment for us, please. Eat the blandest food you and get hold of for a week and get back to us on the results. ---
**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 2, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/22 "2010-04-02T00:09:44Z")
Diarrhea is multi-factorial. > [@](#): > > Etiologies (General) for Acute Diarrhea > A.Infectious Diarrhea Causes > 1.Viruses (30-40% of episodes) > > 2.Bacteria and Parasites (20-30% of episodes) > a.Campylobacter jejuni (most common bacteria) > b.Salmonella > c.Shigella > d.E. coli 0157:H7 (30% of infectious bloody stool) > > 3.Other Infectious Disease > a.Otitis Media > b.Sepsis > c.Sexually Transmitted Disease > > B.Noninfectious Causes > > 1. Osmotic Diarrhea > > 2. Secretory Diarrhea > > 3. other/related Causes More data here: [Acute Diarrhea](http://www.fpnotebook.com/GI/Diarrhea/ActDrh.htm) For chronic diarrhea, the causes are generally broken down into 3 groups: Chronic Fatty Diarrhea Chronic Inflammatory Diarrhea Chronic Watery Diarrhea Each of those has its own particular etiologies, causes, and treatments. > **[Chronic Diarrhea](https://www.fpnotebook.com/GI/Diarrhea/ChrncDrh.htm)** > > This page includes the following topics and synonyms: Chronic Diarrhea. ---
**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 2, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/23 "2010-04-02T01:06:46Z")
> [@EdwardLost](#): > > So is it the spices or the bacterial environment? > > Sven, do an experiment for us, please. Eat the blandest food you and get hold of for a week and get back to us on the results. Chinese food in general is fairly hygienic. Raw vegetables are only served if they are pickled, and fresh fruit (including grapes and sometimes even strawberries!) is always washed, dried and peeled. Cooked meat and vegetables are cooked through using extremely high heat. Drinking water is served hot from being freshly boiled. Street food is nearly all hot and freshly cooked in front of you. It is rare to touch your food, and food requiring fingers is often served with plastic gloves. China’s indigenous sanitation systems are pretty thorough and food poisoning is relatively rare. It may be the oil, it may be the spices, it might even be the crappy beer, but it’s probably not (usually) bugs. ---
**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 2, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/24 "2010-04-02T01:20:29Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Diarrhea is multi-factorial. I can always rely on you to remind me why I didn’t go to med school. 😃 ---
**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 2, 2010, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549/25 "2010-04-02T07:11:12Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Chronic Fatty Diarrhea > Chronic Inflammatory Diarrhea > Chronic Watery Diarrhea So.. oils, spices, or bacteria? Seriously though, bacteria doesn’t explain eating spicy food in 1st world countries for anyone, and even in 3rd world for natives - when I visited Honduras they didn’t seem at all concerned about the local water for their own consumption, but they made sure that I didn’t drink any - clearly they have gotten used to the local bugs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spicy-food-and-diarrhea/534549.md?page=1)