Ran across this and thought it would be good to share.
From http://boomercuisine.com/2010/09/08/chile-peppers-101/ we learn the value of hot pepper consumption for our bodies. According to the Boomercusine web site we learn Chile peppers, and particularly the capsaicin they contain, are good for what ails you. Here’s just a short list of some of the health benefits attributed to them:
Weight Loss. Feel the burn and lose the pounds is one theory posited by researchers at the Oxford Polytechnic Institute in England. In an experiment with 12 individuals, each participant ate identical 766-calorie meals. Chile powder and mustard were added to meals on alternate days. Participants burned an average of 45 extra calories on the days that their meals included chile powder. (Added calorie expenditure varied from four to 76 calories.) The theory is that eating hot peppers increases “thermogenesis,” the body’s caloric burn rate.
Keep your heart healthy. Chiles reduce platelet aggregation, which clogs blood vessels which in turn can cause heart disease.
Improve circulation. Because chiles are vasodilators and open up blood vessels, ingesting cayenne pepper improves blood circulation. People with circulation problems or who have suffered frost bite often take capsaicin powder before participating in cold weather sports.
Cancer killer. Capsaicin in chiles may fight cancer by preventing carcinogens from binding to DNA. The theory is that binding to the DNA short-circuits the triggers for lung and other cancers. This does not mean that chiles cure cancer, but eating them may help to reduce your risk of getting certain kinds of cancer.
Bacteria Killer, Part I. Get hurt on a picnic and don’t have any Bactine on you? Head for the hot sauce, instead. Chiles and their capsaicin act as an antiseptic when applied directly to a wound. (No, it does not work against snake bites.)
Bacteria Killer, Part II. Chiles can prevent food borne bacterial disease such as salmonella. Chiles killed more than 75 percent of 30 germs in a study published in the March 1998 issue of the Quarterly Review of Biology.
Pain Management. Capsaicin is believed to affect the pain signals in the skin, blocking pain without blocking other sensations. Find an ointment or cream containing capsaicin and smear it over the body part that’s hurting. Initially the capsaicin may produce a burning sensation, but that should cancel out the pain that you’re feeling.
Cure for the Common Cluster Headache. Just as it short-circuits pain elsewhere, chiles and their capsaicin can provide relief for some kind of headaches, especially cluster headaches.
Digestive Aid and Constipation Cure. Chiles stimulate gastric secretions. Eating chiles increases the circulation in the stomach and intestines so that food is processed and absorbed more efficiently.
Cold Relief. Hot pepper acts as an expectorant. It can break up congestion and reduce mucous in the lungs and nasal passages.
Good stuff to sell the pepper to your un-tasting friends and spouse.
From http://boomercuisine.com/2010/09/08/chile-peppers-101/ we learn the value of hot pepper consumption for our bodies. According to the Boomercusine web site we learn Chile peppers, and particularly the capsaicin they contain, are good for what ails you. Here’s just a short list of some of the health benefits attributed to them:
Weight Loss. Feel the burn and lose the pounds is one theory posited by researchers at the Oxford Polytechnic Institute in England. In an experiment with 12 individuals, each participant ate identical 766-calorie meals. Chile powder and mustard were added to meals on alternate days. Participants burned an average of 45 extra calories on the days that their meals included chile powder. (Added calorie expenditure varied from four to 76 calories.) The theory is that eating hot peppers increases “thermogenesis,” the body’s caloric burn rate.
Keep your heart healthy. Chiles reduce platelet aggregation, which clogs blood vessels which in turn can cause heart disease.
Improve circulation. Because chiles are vasodilators and open up blood vessels, ingesting cayenne pepper improves blood circulation. People with circulation problems or who have suffered frost bite often take capsaicin powder before participating in cold weather sports.
Cancer killer. Capsaicin in chiles may fight cancer by preventing carcinogens from binding to DNA. The theory is that binding to the DNA short-circuits the triggers for lung and other cancers. This does not mean that chiles cure cancer, but eating them may help to reduce your risk of getting certain kinds of cancer.
Bacteria Killer, Part I. Get hurt on a picnic and don’t have any Bactine on you? Head for the hot sauce, instead. Chiles and their capsaicin act as an antiseptic when applied directly to a wound. (No, it does not work against snake bites.)
Bacteria Killer, Part II. Chiles can prevent food borne bacterial disease such as salmonella. Chiles killed more than 75 percent of 30 germs in a study published in the March 1998 issue of the Quarterly Review of Biology.
Pain Management. Capsaicin is believed to affect the pain signals in the skin, blocking pain without blocking other sensations. Find an ointment or cream containing capsaicin and smear it over the body part that’s hurting. Initially the capsaicin may produce a burning sensation, but that should cancel out the pain that you’re feeling.
Cure for the Common Cluster Headache. Just as it short-circuits pain elsewhere, chiles and their capsaicin can provide relief for some kind of headaches, especially cluster headaches.
Digestive Aid and Constipation Cure. Chiles stimulate gastric secretions. Eating chiles increases the circulation in the stomach and intestines so that food is processed and absorbed more efficiently.
Cold Relief. Hot pepper acts as an expectorant. It can break up congestion and reduce mucous in the lungs and nasal passages.
Good stuff to sell the pepper to your un-tasting friends and spouse.
