Spices have been an integral part of cooking since ancient times and are widely used as flavouring and colouring agents around the world. The active component that gives spicy food its hot tangy flavour is capsaicin.

Capsaicin provides many health benefits and therefore, is now also introduced in medical, cosmetic and perfume industry. Asians consume more spicy food compared to western countries. Some people frequently savour spicy food while others try and avoid it, because a lot of people believe that frequent consumption of spicy food causes common health effects such as acidity, loss of appetite, excessive sweating, skin reaction and burning sensation while urinating. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between frequent consumption of spicy food and health effects. A survey-based study was conducted to determine the frequency of spicy food intake, preferences and other general characteristics. Based on the data collected, chi-square and correlation tests were performed on the selected health ailments. Maximum population (47%) preferred moderate level of spiciness and only 4.7% preferred extreme level of spiciness. No correlation was found between level of spiciness and health effects. These findings suggest that consuming spicy food is not the sole reason for health effects.