Spicy foods—aka, foods that burn—have always divided people. You either love them, avoid them, or tolerate them. For those who enjoy spice, like Amanda Sauceda, RD, registered dietitian, they often say the heat from chili peppers adds interest to the meal. If you’re attempting to cut down on salt, try introducing a heat component, Sauceda says. Like most people, Sauceda had to grow her tolerance for spiciness over time, and it eventually bloomed into enjoyment. Each person’s tolerance for spicy food may depend on a number of things: whether they were eating it regularly as a child, whether they have a propensity to seek out thrills, or simply genetics. Read on for the potential health benefits—and drawbacks—of eating spicy food.

What Makes Spicy Food So Spicy?

The component within chili peppers that brings the heat is called capsaicin. When you eat chili, capsaicin binds and activates specific pain receptors in your mouth and throughout your digestive tract, Sauceda explains. The pain it triggers is relayed to your brain as a burning sensation or a temperature increase, which leads the brain to tell the body to cool itself down, explains Connie Elick, RD.

You may start to sweat, or your “tiny blood vessels dilate and direct the heat to leave the body through the skin, which is what causes flushing on a person’s skin,” Elick says. Teary eyes, runny nose, or excess saliva are also typical responses to capsaicin, because the body may interpret it as an irritant to flush out.

So, if capsaicin is registered by your body as something that causes pain, does it harm you? Not always, both dietitians say—in fact, capsaicin and chili peppers do benefit your body in some ways, so if you’re a hot sauce or chili flakes lover, this is good news.

Potential Benefits of Eating Spicy Food

Capsaicin May Have Antioxidant Properties

To explain what antioxidants do, we must first understand what free radicals are. Free radicals are compounds produced by natural processes in your body, as well as environmental factors such as alcohol, air pollution, and smoking. An excess of free radicals in the body can lead to cell and DNA damage, and over time may result in chronic diseases. [1, 2] Antioxidants neutralize free radicals in your body, and capsaicin in spicy foods can act as an antioxidant, Elick says.

Hot peppers are also a source of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant. A single green chili pepper provides 121% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C, and one red chili pepper contains 72% of the recommended daily value. [3, 4]

It Might Improve Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, and Gut Health

For now, human studies on capsaicin are inconclusive about whether it helps or worsens cholesterol levels and blood pressure. [5, 6, 7, 8, 9] As for the gut, “emerging research, though I wouldn’t say it’s solid evidence, shows that capsaicin may impact our gut microbiome,” Sauceda says. Capsaicin may increase beneficial bacteria and decrease harmful bacteria in the lower part of the gastrointestinal tract, though this has only been shown (so far) in animal studies. While more solid scientific data is needed before we can confidently state these additional benefits of capsaicin on human health, the possibilities are exciting.

Potential Drawbacks of Eating Spicy Food

It Can Trigger Heartburn and Acid Reflux

Spicy food is one of the foods to avoid if you’re prone to heartburn or have acid reflux, Sauceda says. The spicy food irritates our esophagus as it travels down to the stomach, and also causes the lower esophageal sphincter to relax, Elick adds. This sphincter prevents stomach contents from washing back up the esophagus. When it relaxes, this means food and stomach acid travels back up, contributing to acid reflux and heartburn. Even if you don’t have acid reflux, experiencing uncomfortable heartburn is a way to tell that you’ve overdone it with spicy food, Sauceda warns.

It Can Lead to GI Issues

Capsaicin irritates the tissues of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, so the body may perceive it as a threat, Elick says. In response, your intestinal muscle walls increase contractions to move the food with capsaicin through the GI tract to get rid of it. This is why some of us need to run to the bathroom or have more loose stools when we eat spicy foods, Sauceda says. When this happens, it’s a sign that you may have had more chili than your body can handle, she adds.

It Can Be Irritating If You Have a Stomach Ulcer

Spicy foods do not cause stomach ulcers, but if you have a stomach ulcer, spicy foods can worsen your symptoms, Sauceda says. “Spicy foods can be irritating to the gut lining, and when you have an ulcer, you’re going to feel more of that irritation.”