We all want to eat the kinds of foods that make us feel better, live longer, but there's

so much conflicting information out there, so many nutrition opinions.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast, I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

It's my job to give you the information you need to make the healthiest choices possible.

Did you know that those sweet spicy foods regularly tend to live longer?

Most people could name four of the basic tastes, sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

The rare foodie may be able to nail umami, but what about the forgotten flavor sense?

Spicy.

This seeming neglect is somewhat surprising, given that hot peppers are one of the world's

most widely used spices.

In fact, as many as one in four people on the planet currently eat chilies on a daily

basis, raising the question, why is spicy food so popular?

Why do some like it hot, enjoying what is at first glance in irritating and potentially

painful mouth sensation?

According to one popular suggestion, it is the endorphin hit, the release of the natural

morphine-like pink killer chemicals from your brain, you hear this a lot in the popular

press, but we still don't have any convincing evidence to support it.

Another suggestion is that we learn to use it for its antimicrobial properties before

the age of refrigeration, given that spicy food tends to be preferred by cultures living

in warmer climates.

And for that matter, maybe it makes us sweat, and thereby ultimately helps cool us down.

Then again, maybe it's just because people just like the taste.

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