Eating spicy foods may cause some increase in body temperature for a short period of time, but this increase is short-lived and will soon decrease to within the normal range. When eating any food, there may be some increase in body temperature due to the thermodynamic effect of the food. When eating spicy food, the increase in body temperature may be more pronounced because the spicy food is more stimulating. This is not a fever, but a brief increase in body temperature that can be quickly reduced to normal by the body’s own thermoregulatory mechanisms. In addition to a mild increase in body temperature after eating, there may be a brief increase in body temperature during the day when you are emotional and after exercise. Therefore, it is important to take your temperature in a calm state to get an accurate temperature reading to help determine whether you have a fever, not after eating or exercising.