Why does it hurt to pooh after eating spicy foods?

Not so amazing: feeling those spices come out the next day.

When you consume spicy foods, the compounds that give them heat move through your body relatively unchanged. Since they aren’t nutrients, your body doesn’t absorb them, says Luigi Basso, M.D., a specialist in coloproctology and laparoscopic surgery at Sapienza University of Rome in Italy.

That means your poop is laced with spicy particles. “And since the last part of your anal region—your rectum and anus—is lined by cells similar to those in your mouth, spicy foods can burn just as much on the way out as on the way in,” says Dr. Basso.

This can happen to anyone, but people with irritable bowel syndrome, hemorrhoids, or other gastrointestinal issues may be more prone to the pain.

Yes, biology is cruel, but don’t let it stop you from enjoying your favorite spicy foods.