Why people eat spicy-hot food

 I was taught something along the same lines as another poster, that hot
 food actually serves to *cool* the body through better regulation.  Why
 do people in equatorial countries eat the stuff?  I live in (mostly) hot
 San Diego, and man do I love spicy food.  Not just Mexican food; there's
 an Ethiopian place called 'the Red Sea' on University Ave at Euclid here
 in town that will fry your synapses with some of the best food I've ever
 had in my life!

 Any other theories out there?

 Michael Breen
 singing and philosophizing
 (and seeking out the perfect green sauce)