# Why eat food that causes pain? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370 "2003-07-28T04:21:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/41 "2003-08-01T03:51:55Z")
This thread isn’t what I thought it was going to be about, so I guess " I’d starve otherwise" isn’t a great answer after all. If I had a job with health insurance a doctor would probably diagnose acid reflux at least, if not an ulcer as well, so… ☹ But even when my stomach etc didn’t bother me, I wouldn’t eat spicy foods. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/42 "2003-08-01T22:10:51Z")
I don’t know if I buy the acclimitization bit about hot peppers. My suspicion that some people naturally can tolerate higher levels of heat than others. For some people the cutoff is 100 Scoville units, for some it’s 1,000, for some it’s 5,000, etc. You might be able to shift your range if you are sufficiently motivated, but I doubt if most people are sufficiently motivated. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/43 "2003-08-01T22:51:13Z")
Sorry, **evil** but you’re wrong here. The phenomenon of habituation to capsaicin has been well known for a long time. [http://www.herc.org/news/ehp/bascom.html](http://www.herc.org/news/ehp/bascom.html) ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/44 "2003-08-02T01:04:16Z")
I like to get the synergy thing going like Even Sven. My favorite was Zapp’s Cajun Craw Tators (crawfish boil flavored potato chips sold in Louisiana) with ice cold diet Coke. For a while in college I would get these cravings and have to go through the pleasure/pain ritual with these before I could study. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/45 "2003-08-02T01:31:56Z")
I like spice, but not HEAT, if that makes sense. I like my food to have lots and lots of flavor, and I do like BBQ fritos (and the ones that are twisty-what are they, Honey BBQ? YUm!), and they’re a tad hot, but not OMG, MY TONGUE IS ON FIRE!!! I’d rather taste the spices, than feel them. On the other hand, I have read that spicy foods are supposed to raise one’s metabolism. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/46 "2003-08-02T03:56:55Z")
I just got an upper plate and the title of this thread was something I really relate with. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![80sHairMetalMaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/ed655f/32.png) [@80sHairMetalMaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/80sHairMetalMaven)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/47 "2003-08-02T19:46:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*_sigh_ > I was asking myself that today after the vanilla milkshake and the cheese burger. > > I’m lactose intolerant… \*\* Me too. But I _looooove_ milk products and all their uh…milky, calcium rich goodness. I am burping cheese and milk right now from the quesadilla and milk chaser I had for lunch a little while ago. I’ve also been known to eat an entire carton of Ben and Jerry’s in one sitting which has the unique reaction of not only giving me the runs, but I get to vomit too, so CG gets to sit back and laugh while I attempt to scuttle, crablike, between the toilet and the bathtub.☹ IDBB ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/48 "2003-08-02T19:52:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Sorry, **evil** but you’re wrong here. The phenomenon of habituation to capsaicin has been well known for a long time. > [http://www.herc.org/news/ehp/bascom.html](http://www.herc.org/news/ehp/bascom.html) \*\* Oh, that’s the ticket, go find some site that TOTALLY negates my theory in a very authoritative way. :rolleyes: Honestly, I don’t know why I bother to make this stuff up… ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/49 "2003-08-02T23:23:38Z")
I normally stay away from spicy foods. But Chinese mustard? I make sure my water glass is full, slather the stuff on my egg roll, and enjoy the heat and the clearing of my sinuses. Ivylad just shakes his head as I sputter and cough, gulp the water and pour on more mustard. ---
**Author:** ![Chavardz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@Chavardz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chavardz)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370/50 "2003-08-02T23:38:40Z")
Chile is actually addictive. And it takes some art to learn how to eat it. For instance, you never, ever, ever let something with chile touch your lips. You have to open wide and give it room. The sensation capsaicin causes is in fact, pain. Reaserchers at the Universidad Autónoma de México have used Catscans of the brain to prove it. So why do I like it? I don’t know, I just do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-eat-food-that-causes-pain/191370.md?page=2)