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Hot Stuff Addiction - A Long-Term Health Concern?

Bubonic

Bubonic

I've browsed the web, seen many contradictions on the subject.

I understand the logical health benefit concerning the killing of bacteria, (just turn chili-head, and its been my first Canadian winter without getting the flu)

But there is a bunch of talk about how abuse may damage your stomach lining, bad for your skin, and other unpleasant things.

I heard on one side, it'll cause ulcers, from others that its only bad if you already have ulcers.

I'm told that capsacain will kill your tastebuds, then told that this is absolutely false, it just triggers c-receptors that trick your mind into thinking something bad is happening... Then again I'm told some extreme sauces can cause blisters, so to me that contradicts that it doesn't have physical effects.

I figure here be the best place to ask as there must be people that have been chili-heads for decades.
 
Probably not good for ulcers but that's about the only concern with peppers unless you have repiratory problems
 
I have acid reflux bad enough that my Dr has me on Nexium. I have never experienced any bad reactions with peppers. As long as I take the "purple pill" and I love peppers, onions, tomatoes and garlic. All of which are blamed for acid reflux.
 
Pepperfreak said:
Intersting thread. I might try it for a week and see what happens. Those darn pills are expensive...
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Ask your doctor about a cheaper version. I can't remember the names but there are sevaral that are like 99% the same and less expensive. I think Pantoloc might have been the one I was on.
Also for me it was way cheaper to buy the 10mg(times 2) than the 20mg. It was almost half the price:rolleyes:
 
Bubonic said:
I've browsed the web, seen many contradictions on the subject.

I understand the logical health benefit concerning the killing of bacteria, (just turn chili-head, and its been my first Canadian winter without getting the flu)

But there is a bunch of talk about how abuse may damage your stomach lining, bad for your skin, and other unpleasant things.

I heard on one side, it'll cause ulcers, from others that its only bad if you already have ulcers.

I'm told that capsacain will kill your tastebuds, then told that this is absolutely false, it just triggers c-receptors that trick your mind into thinking something bad is happening... Then again I'm told some extreme sauces can cause blisters, so to me that contradicts that it doesn't have physical effects.

I figure here be the best place to ask as there must be people that have been chili-heads for decades.
Click to expand...

Call me a cynic of western medicine (i.e. European / American), but you can find contradictory studies on EVERYTHING. Especially food. I wouldn't worry about it. Look at the areas where people eat a lot of hot peppers (India, southeast Asia in general). These people aren't suffering en masse from digestive disorders.

I also had acid reflux BAD. Waking up choking on gastric acid, the whole bit. It mostly went away when I quit smoking. Now I only get it with deep-fried food (which I don't eat), and certain spiced meats (gyros). Peppers never. I can see if someone already has an ulcer, they'll be more sensitive. But as far as peppers causing damage? I wouldn't bet on it.

As far as killing your tastebuds? Poppycock. Balderdash, even. Claptrap, I say!
 
I wasn't even looking for this but this is what I came across. It's just simply explaining how they are good. I haven't tried to look for the bad.

Chile peppers are all-season foods: they warm you up in winter and cool you down in the summer. This correlates to the feeling of warmth when eating chillies. Hot foods do increase perspiration, which may be the underlying reason they are enjoyed in hot climates. So a sweat and possibly a brief increase in your metabolic rate won't influence weight loss either. The best contribution to weight loss is the flavours chillies can add to foods when the fat has been removed. Studies done in populations that use hot peppers consistently found that these people show no higher incidence of any gastrointestinal diseases. In fact, there are some areas where they exhibit some beneficial effects. The Capsaicin has been identified as an anticoagulant and could possibly aid in preventing a heart attack or stroke. Since 1982, there have been more than 2,000 scientific studies published describing the medicinal benefits of chillies. These include treatments for asthma, arthritis, blood clots, cluster headaches, shingles and severe burns.

It is believed that relief of PMS can come from the Endorphin release after eating chillies, although there is certainly the possibility of other factors coming into play. Aside from the documented physiological/psychological effects of endorphins, chillies are high in compounds known as Bioflavonoids.

These compounds are powerful anti-inflammitories. Bioflavonoids are also noted to help blood vessel walls strengthen and lessen bleeding. This could be another source of the relief. Chiles are also cited by nearly every homeopathic and home remedy book to be able to reduce inflammations. Chiles are believed by many peoples to achieve this effect through a normalising of blood pressures and blood flows in the body. Chiles are also noted to be relatively high in magnesium. Some time ago, bananas were touted as the ultimate cure for PMS when it was found that potassium helped to relieve the symptoms associated with PMS. Magnesium comes from the same family on the periodic table and could potentially mimic this effect.
 
I've heard everything on this subject and I've basically taken the side of they are better than good for you, peppers are awesome for you.
 
klyth said:
Call me a cynic of western medicine (i.e. European / American), but you can find contradictory studies on EVERYTHING. Especially food. I wouldn't worry about it. Look at the areas where people eat a lot of hot peppers (India, southeast Asia in general). These people aren't suffering en masse from digestive disorders.

I also had acid reflux BAD. Waking up choking on gastric acid, the whole bit. It mostly went away when I quit smoking. Now I only get it with deep-fried food (which I don't eat), and certain spiced meats (gyros). Peppers never. I can see if someone already has an ulcer, they'll be more sensitive. But as far as peppers causing damage? I wouldn't bet on it.

As far as killing your tastebuds? Poppycock. Balderdash, even. Claptrap, I say!
Click to expand...

I'm with you on the criticism of Western medicine, there is an over reliance on chemical based remedies, compounds that can be created in a lab, instead of a lot of what can be procured from nature.

That's too bad about having to stay away from gyros, they're quite delicious.

rainbowberry said:
I wasn't even looking for this but this is what I came across. It's just simply explaining how they are good. I haven't tried to look for the bad.

Chile peppers are all-season foods: they warm you up in winter and cool you down in the summer. This correlates to the feeling of warmth when eating chillies. Hot foods do increase perspiration, which may be the underlying reason they are enjoyed in hot climates. So a sweat and possibly a brief increase in your metabolic rate won't influence weight loss either. The best contribution to weight loss is the flavours chillies can add to foods when the fat has been removed. Studies done in populations that use hot peppers consistently found that these people show no higher incidence of any gastrointestinal diseases. In fact, there are some areas where they exhibit some beneficial effects. The Capsaicin has been identified as an anticoagulant and could possibly aid in preventing a heart attack or stroke. Since 1982, there have been more than 2,000 scientific studies published describing the medicinal benefits of chillies. These include treatments for asthma, arthritis, blood clots, cluster headaches, shingles and severe burns.

It is believed that relief of PMS can come from the Endorphin release after eating chillies, although there is certainly the possibility of other factors coming into play. Aside from the documented physiological/psychological effects of endorphins, chillies are high in compounds known as Bioflavonoids.

These compounds are powerful anti-inflammitories. Bioflavonoids are also noted to help blood vessel walls strengthen and lessen bleeding. This could be another source of the relief. Chiles are also cited by nearly every homeopathic and home remedy book to be able to reduce inflammations. Chiles are believed by many peoples to achieve this effect through a normalising of blood pressures and blood flows in the body. Chiles are also noted to be relatively high in magnesium. Some time ago, bananas were touted as the ultimate cure for PMS when it was found that potassium helped to relieve the symptoms associated with PMS. Magnesium comes from the same family on the periodic table and could potentially mimic this effect.
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Wow, very informative stuff, thank you.
It be funny if chili-heads end up being the healthiest people around in the next 20 ought years.

imaguitargod said:
I've heard everything on this subject and I've basically taken the side of they are better than good for you, peppers are awesome for you.
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I'd have to agree, not so gentle on my budget though. Stuck on buying sauces as I never see natural hot peppers in markets, apart from tamed versions.
 
Bubonic said:
I'm with you on the criticism of Western medicine, there is an over reliance on chemical based remedies, compounds that can be created in a lab, instead of a lot of what can be procured from nature.
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Ya, and generally those chemicals either only treat the sympton and not the cause or they screw you up even more and cause you to need other meds to counter act the side effects.

Bubonic said:
Stuck on buying sauces as I never see natural hot peppers in markets, apart from tamed versions.
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That's why I grow them myself ;)
 
Medical science has always been a double edged sword. Good Doctors HAVE to weigh the pro verses the cons of any treatment. Like taking an anti-biotic when your sick, those drugs usually kill off the good bacteria as well as the bad. Double edged sword...
 
imaguitargod said:
That's why I grow them myself ;)
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I'd like to do that aswell, but I already spent enough on heat lamps and equipment for my new turtle.

So unless I can grown them easily enough I don't think I can manage it.

You need special lamps and conditions to grown these things right, they don't spring up as easy and plentifully as tomatoes I bet.
 
i like this Lot.

People suffering from ulcers are usually warned to avoid spicy foods. But new research suggests that capsaicin the opposite - that capsaicin might actually protect against peptic ulcers.A number of experiments over the years have found that capsaicin protects the gastric mucosal membrane against damage from alcohol and aspirin. Jin Y. Kang, M.D., of the National University of Singapore, recently speculated that capsaicin might work by stimulating a hormone that increases blood flow and nourishes the gastric mucosal membrane. He also suggested that capsaicin rather than spicy foods in general might be helpful.
In an intriguing study, Kang noted that peptic ulcers were more common among Chinese than among Malay and Indian residents of Singapore. After ruling out race as an influence, Kang had a hunch that the high rate of ulcers among the Chinese was the result of their relatively low chile consumption.So he carefully compared the chile-eating habits of 103 Chinese patients with peptic ulcers and 87 Chinese patients without ulcers. Kang discovered that ulcer-free patients ate 2.6 times more chile than those with ulcers. The ulcer-free patients also ate chile more often-24 times per month, compared with 8 times per month for those with ulcers.7

Several other capsaicin and cayenne studies are noteworthy.

Researchers from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Princeton, N.J., reported animal studies in which capsaicin reduced ventricular tachycardias and ventricular fibrillations, types of serious arrhythmias. Furthermore, capsaicin improved blood flow to the heart. Capsaicin seems to function in these roles as a natural calcium blocker, analogous to some prescription heart drugs.

A nasal application of capsaicin greatly ameliorated symptoms among 52 patients suffering from cluster headaches. Seventy percent of the patients benefitted when the capsaicin was applied to the nostril on the same side as the headache. When capsaicin was applied to the opposite nostril, patients did not improve.

In a study of 200 patients with psoriasis, application of a 0.025-percent capsaicin cream significantly reduced itching, scaling, thickness, and redness compared with patients who used a plain cream.

Capsorbin, a carotenoid associated with capsaicin in cayenne, functions as an antioxidant that quenches singlet oxygen free radicals.

Although there is some evidence that capsaicin is mutagenic, recent studies have found that capsaicin protects against some chemicals that cause cancer and mutations.12 In one study, researchers found that chlorophyll suppressed the mutagenic properties of capsaicin.

Capsaicin is a remarkable health-promoting substance. But since burning and irritation are common side effects, it may be wise to start using it slowly and building up a tolerance for larger quantities.

Sounds good to me. More chilli's to all
 
Rainbowberry/Hippyseed great articles..thx for those very educational threads.
yep my windowsills are my main source of light and i have a small 4 tier greenhouse in my backroom thats a bit full at the momment..its waiting for that elusive warmer weather :pray::whistle:
 
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