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What causes people to sweat when they eat spicy foods?

The chemical capsaicin, a component of spicy foods, is what causes sweating. It does this by stimulating nerve endings in the mouth and tongue that, normally, only respond to a rise in body temperature. As a result, the brain receives a false signal that body temperature has risen. This initiates the chain of physiological events that leads to the sweating of the face.

Source: Flaste, Richard, ed. The New York Times Book of Science Literacy, p. 347.

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