I have wondered about genetics and predisposition (or lack thereof) to spicy
foods.

I have never been able to eat anything with chili pepper or cayenne, etc. I'm
extremely sensitive to it - it causes me pain and I get no pleasure out of it,
so I just avoid it altogether. Logically, it does not factor into my household
recipes. I grew up in a household where no spicy food was eaten - and I asked
my dad why that was. Was it because he and/or his parents couldn't tolerate
spicy food, or simply because he grew up eating no spicy food in his own
household? The answer was, both. So I was left wondering, do we share a genetic
distaste for spicy food, or is it a function of what we ate as kids?

I have a Mexican coworker who told me that kids there eat chili pepper
lollipops. Is it because they are born tolerant to chilis, or because at that
age, it is easier to form food preferences?

-Jen
Half the people you know are below average. -Steven Wright