Why do people in Warmer climates eat spicy food?”
There are a quite a few theories about why people in hot climates tend to eat spicy food. I have lived in India and visit there regularly and from my experience, the presence of “heating” spices (as well as the other herbs and spices used), helps stimulate the appetite and the digestion, both of which tend to slow down when it is hot. Some studies show that, to a certain extent, the use of spices also prevents food spoilage. http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/March98/spice.hrs.html In India they say that the cook is the healer of the family and a lot of the spices used there have medicinal properties as well as making the food more easy to digest. Some spices (i.e. chili, asafetida, mustard seeds, cumin) also help rid the digestive system of parasites and bacteria and others (i.e. turmeric) are blood purifiers and strengthen the liver. If you are interested in knowing more about the uses and heal
