Why do spicy foods give you diarrhea

Even if you can down curry vindaloo or burritos doused in hot sauce without flinching, your body might not be able to hold its poker face as well. While most people can eat spicy foods with no problems, others find they provoke diarrhea and other uncomfortable digestive symptoms. Capsaicin activates a pain receptor that sends signals to the brain that we perceive as hot burning pain, according to a June article in the journal Molecules.

These receptors also exist in the stomach and intestines, so food containing capsaicin causes some irritation to the gastrointestinal tract as it is digested. Some studies suggest that diarrhea after eating spicy foods is due to the fact that "capsaicin may increase intestinal motility" — or the speed at which food moves through the gastrointestinal tract, says Lindsey Albenberg, DO , spokesperson of the American Gastroenterological Association and an attending physician in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

People sensitive to spicy foods may also experience abdominal discomfort and increased gas and bloating. Capsaicin also can irritate the anus as it exits the body, which is why some people have painful bowel movements and even the sensation of burning poop after eating spicy foods.

Indeed, there's some research to confirm that people with IBS seem to be especially sensitive to capsaicin, according to a January study in Neurogastroenterology and Motility.

Art: Chern Ling. Khoo Bee Khim. Bookmark Bookmark Share. This week, we kick off with your increasing intolerance for spicy food. READ: Love chilli? You might be a thrill-seeker — with a lower risk of heart disease That explains why you may feel abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and a scorching sensation in the stomach after a mala hotpot dinner — along with the afterburn in the anus the day after on the toilet.

Eating spicy food cools you down better than ice cream Secondly, if you're part of the Sandwich Generation — supporting children and elderly parents — you may be under more stress than other Singaporeans.

Related Topics Digestion health Advertisement. Expand to read the full story. Trending Topics No Content Found! So spicy foods can engender pain and discomfort. Hot foods can also be challenging for people with hemorrhoids or anal fissures, says Dr. Those fissures are just like they sound—little tears which tend to be caused by constipation and sometimes even by diarrhea. Of course, not eating spicy foods is one way to go.

But if you're not going to do that we're with you on that , try these strategies:. Limit spicy foods that are both spicy and fatty, like chicken wings or quesadillas smothered in hot sauce.

Excess fat can be a problem because the bile salts your body uses to digest them can irritate the skin around your anus, says Brooks D. Cash, M. Cash suggests. That helps bind the spice up into your poop so it won't burn so much on the way out, explains Sameer Islam, M. It depends on how spicy. A case of esophageal perforation after eating ghost peppers The hot sauce I ate was ghost pepper based.

Can spicy foods cause stomach pain? Spicy foods are healthy. Basically, if spicy foods give you stomach pain, think before you eat. Use gloves if handling super hot peppers. Regarding ridiculously spicy foods with warning labels, eat them at your own risk. Fellas, that ghost pepper sauce almost burned off my chest hairs from the inside—respect it. See Dr. McDonald's profile. Adult GI with Dr.

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