When you challenge yourself to eat spicy food, why does that person stay cool as a cucumber while I can't stop sweating and crying? The scientific reason is that the human brain perceives spicy food not as a taste but as pain. However, there is an exceptional individual difference in this reaction. What determines this difference is the number of "pain sensors" on the tongue. People are born with different numbers of these sensors, so the perception of the same spiciness can vary greatly.
The main component of chili peppers, capsaicin, stimulates the same pain nerves as a burn over 43 degrees Celsius. The "pain warning system," which is supposed to protect humans, feels intense pain from this substance and sends warnings in the form of a lot of sweat and tears. But interestingly, people enjoy eating spicy food. This is because eating spicy food releases "happiness hormones" along with the "pain," allowing for a special experience of these contrasting sensations at the same time.
