Alecs Ștefănescu quoted Hurts So Good by Leigh Cowart
An exploration of why people all over the world love to engage in pain on …
Specifically, capsaicin is a heat mimic. It activates sensory neurons that alert the brain to the presence of actual heat, not the flavor of heat but real, kinetic energy heat. When you eat a very hot pepper, capsaicin binds a specific receptor, the kind that warns your brain when your coffee is too hot.