&gt;<i>Eating really spicy food is a form of culinary masochism after all.</i><p>Not if you like it.<p>But historically, and before the refrigerator, it was also a good way to make long preserved food taste less bad, and also a way to preserve food (as spicies contain antibiotics).<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;skeptics.stackexchange.com&#x2F;questions&#x2F;4983&#x2F;does-spicy-food-have-antibacterial-traits" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;skeptics.stackexchange.com&#x2F;questions&#x2F;4983&#x2F;does-spicy-...</a>