When you challenge yourself with spicy food, why does that person remain as cool as a cucumber while I can't stop sweating and crying? The scientific reason is that the human brain perceives spicy food as pain, not taste, and there is a surprising individual difference in this reaction. What determines this individual difference is the number of "pain receptors" on the tongue. People are born with different numbers of these receptors, so the same level of spiciness can feel very different to each person.
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 opposing sensations at the same time.
There are two main types of spiciness: the 'hot' type, like chili peppers, which feels like heat, and the 'sharp' type, like wasabi, which goes through the nose.
