Mismatch

For all these health benefits to be seen, capsaicin has to be regular component of the individuals diet.  Capsaicin tolerance, similar to lactose tolerance, is a trait which evolved over time and some bodies are better adapted than others.  In a study performed with participants suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, the participants with IBS experienced hypersensitivity to capsaicin resulting in an irritated rectum and diarrhea (Gonlachanvit, Mahayosnond, & Kullavanijaya, 2009).  For those whose body is not adapted to handle spicy foods, it is not an advantage for them to consume spicy foods. In Billing and Sherman’s study, there was not as much stress for spices, like capsicum, in diets with cooler average temperatures (1998).  For the individuals who experience IBS which is further irritated by spicy foods, there is an assortment of factors which could have led to this. First, the individual’s ancestors evolved in an environment, like Norway, which led to less pressure for the tolerance of spicy food.  As a result, the mismatch between the environment of evolutionary adaptiveness and novel environment would result in the deleterious results (Nesse, 2008). Since food preference is also affected by environmental and cultural factors, if the individual was not exposed to spicy foods throughout their life, the sudden introduction might be a shock to the individual due to mismatch.