Can you really build your tolerance to spicy food?

Can't handle spicy food? Break out in sweats just at the thought of a fiery meal? With a mindset shift and some exposure therapy, you can learn to tolerate – and even love – spice.

"Capsaicin is primarily responsible for the spicy sensation," explains Dr Qian Yang, external, associate professor in sensory and consumer science.

This compound binds to TRPV1 pain receptors, external on our tongues and creates that warming, burning and even painful sensation (depending on the concentration) when you eat something spicy, she says.

It's often thought that a chilli's seeds are where you find the fieriness – but that's not quite right. It's actually the white pith inside the chilli, which the seeds are attached to, where capsaicin is most concentrated.

The amount of capsaicin a chilli contains differs between varieties, and it's measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU) using the Scoville Scale, external.

A bell pepper (the type we stick in a salad) is right at the bottom of the scale with a score of 0. At the top is where you'll find the Carolina reaper, which has an average score of more than 1.6 million. Have even the tiniest lick of that and you're going to feel like a volcano's erupting in your mouth.

Responses to spice vary hugely from person to person. There are a few theories why this is.

"Our tolerance for spicy foods comes from a mixture of nature and nurture," says Yang.

"Chilli peppers tend to grow better in hot climates like India, and it has been hypothesised that the increased tolerance of people who live there could be partly due to increased exposure at a much younger age, external."

Research suggests, external that genetic factors may play a significant part in spice tolerance, too.

Some people are born with fewer of the receptors which sense capsaicin. Others have more – they're the ones who tend to struggle with spice.

Recent studies also show that even your personality could influence what a chilli head, external you are, with thrill seekers more likely to deal well with fiery foods.

James Elander, external, professor of health psychology, has researched how we respond to pain and links these findings to our different reactions to pokey peppers.

"Pain is an extremely interesting phenomenon, psychologically. While pain is very real, it's our tolerance towards pain, or our willingness to accept it, which determines how we perceive and feel it.

"That might also be true of experiences of eating spicy food."

Owen Rosser, co-founder of Pembrokeshire Chilli Farm, grows 15 types of chillies. But, it was only recently that Rosser could cope with any kind of heat.

"When we started [the business], I was a real korma kind of guy. But over the years my tolerance has definitely increased," he says.

Yang agrees that you can change the way capsaicin affects you, but suggests you take it steady.

"People can try to desensitise themselves to the burning sensations by slowly and gradually introducing spicy foods into their diet over a period of time," says Yang.

"This repeated exposure could increase tolerance slowly and people will start to enjoy hot food."

This is where the Scoville Scale is going to come in handy. Start with a few of the chillies at the bottom, and repeatedly expose yourself until you feel used to the sensation they cause. Then, gradually work your way up the list.

Pace yourself while you become used to dealing with the heat. It's not going to be helpful to go from bland to bird's eye without stopping for a chipotle or two on the way!

Chillies also vary hugely in flavour – from sweet and fruity to rich and smoky – so try to enjoy the variety of flavours as you learn to deal with the heat.

Capsaicin doesn't burn or destroy taste buds – the burning sensation you feel from chomping on a chilli comes from the activation of the TRPV1 receptors.

But, if you find that you've pushed it too far and need instant relief, there's an easy fix.

"We recommend milk or milk-based products, such as yoghurt and ice cream," says Rosser. "They need to be the full-fat versions though, as the caseins in the milk will break down the capsaicin quicker.

"Dry bread can also work, as it will cleanse the taste buds in your mouth."

Originally published June 2023. Updated February 2026.

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