Iron-Stomached Superman Claims To Eat 5 Pounds Of Chili Peppers Every Day

In news that is likely to make even the most adventurous of spicy-food lovers wince, a man in China who says he is the world's biggest lover of chili peppers reportedly eats more than five and a half pounds of them every single day.

According to Shanghaiist, self-described "Chili King" Li Yongzhi says he chows down on massive bowls of chili peppers, because food that is not spicy has no flavor. He even prefers chili peppers to things like toothpaste.

"In the morning, other people always brush their teeth, but the first thing I do is eat chili and rinse my mouse with that," he said. "If the food has no spiciness then it has no taste."

Throughout the day, Li reportedly just tosses back handfuls of chili peppers as though they were sunflower seeds. He grows his own peppers, and says he has eight different varieties of spicy chili peppers from around the world growing in his garden.

Li's habit of starting the day with a giant bowl of chili peppers makes one wonder how painfully he must end the day, but Li maintains that he is physically normal and suffers no ill effects from his extraordinarily spicy diet.

"I don't have any supernatural powers," he said. "I just like to eat them, so I eat them. The hospital checked and they said that I am no different from anyone else."