Do you love eating spicy (辛辣的)foods? They seem to come from countries with a tropical climate (热带气候). Two scientists, Jennifer Billing and Dr Paul Sherman, wondered why? They thought that healthy eating habits probably helped people survive(生存). But how could eating "hot foods in tropical climates make dinners healthier?
Hundreds of years ago people didn't know how some spices preserved(保存) foods. Since then, scientists have discovered that spice plants have some important chemicals. These chemicals can kill bacteria (细菌) which spoil (变质) food." Most common spices can kill 75 to 100 percent of the bacteria in food, " explains one of the scientists. The bacteria grow more easily and spoil food more quickly at higher temperatures. For this reason, it is more difficult to keep food from spoiling in hot climates. Do you like your spicy foods? Your answer probably tells something about the country you come from if you like spicy foods. It is possible that hundreds of years ago, when there were no fridges, people in your country started using spices to keep the food from spoiling. The traditional spicy dishes helped those people to live longer, healthier lives. Today, in a time of fridges, the spices just make the food taste good.
