| Forget apples. The old folk saying should | | | | of some nasty microbes that could make you |
| probably read, "Eat a chile a day and keep | | | | ill. |
| the doctor away." | | | | |
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| | | | Pain Management. Capsaicin is believed to |
| Chile peppers, and particularly the | | | | affect the pain signals in the skin, blocking |
| capsaicin they contain, are good for what | | | | pain without blocking other sensations. Find |
| ails you. Here's just a short list of some of | | | | an ointment or cream containing capsaicin and |
| the health benefits attributed to them: | | | | 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. |
| 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 | | | | Cure for the Common Cluster Headache. Just |
| individuals, each participant ate identical | | | | as it short-circuits pain elsewhere, chiles |
| 766-calorie meals. Chile powder and mustard | | | | and their capsaicin can provide relief for |
| were added to meals on alternate days. | | | | some kind of headaches, especially cluster |
| Participants burned an average of 45 extra | | | | headaches. |
| 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 | | | | Digestive Aid and Constipation Cure. Chiles |
| increases "thermogenesis," the body's caloric | | | | stimulate gastric secretions. Eating chiles |
| burn rate. | | | | increases the circulation in the stomach and |
| | | | intestines so that food is processed and |
| | | | absorbed more efficiently. They get the |
| | | | digestive juices flowing, which improves |
| Keep your heart healthy. Chiles reduce | | | | digestion as well as gives a boost to |
| platelet aggregation, which clogs blood | | | | sluggish bowels and inspires them to get a |
| vessels which in turn can cause heart | | | | move on. Chiles can even bring relief to |
| disease. | | | | sufferers of stomach aches as strange as that |
| | | | may sound. |
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| Improve circulation. Because chiles are | | | | |
| vasodilators and open up blood vessels, | | | | Cold Relief. Hot pepper acts as an |
| ingesting cayenne pepper improves blood | | | | expectorant. It can break up congestion and |
| circulation. People with circulation problems | | | | reduce mucous in the lungs and nasal |
| or who have suffered frost bite often take | | | | passages. (Ingestion of hot peppers causes |
| capsaicin powder before participating in cold | | | | your mouth, throat, and lungs to release |
| weather sports. | | | | watery fluids as anyone that's chomped down |
| | | | on a jalapeno pepper or taken a bite of extra |
| | | | hot chili can attest.) These watery |
| | | | secretions help thin respiratory mucus, so |
| Cancer killer. Capsaicin in chiles may fight | | | | it's easier to cough up and expel.) Try |
| cancer by preventing carcinogens from binding | | | | cayenne mixed with hot lemonade and ginger to |
| to DNA. The theory is that binding to the DNA | | | | soothe your next cold. Similarly capsaicin |
| short-circuits the triggers for lung and | | | | can help calm coughs by wetting the throat -- |
| other cancers. This does not mean that chiles | | | | menthol lozenges actually dry out your throat |
| cure cancer, but eating them may help to | | | | and paralyze the cilia on the airways. |
| reduce your risk of getting certain kinds of | | | | Chilies can also mend sore throats, not only |
| cancer. | | | | by giving symptomatic, relief but also |
| | | | because of hot peppers' antiseptic |
| | | | properties. |
| | | | |
| 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 | | | | Keep in mind that individual results may |
| their capsaicin act as an antiseptic when | | | | vary and that you should always consult a |
| applied directly to a wound. (No, it does not | | | | doctor before trying a health remedy -- even |
| work against snake bites.) | | | | an all-natural one. That said, next time you |
| | | | catch a cold, dribble some hot sauce on your |
| | | | favorite food to relieve your stuffy nose and |
| | | | make your sore throat feel better and call |
| Bacteria Killer, Part II. Chiles can prevent | | | | your doctor in the morning.This article was |
| food borne bacterial disease such as | | | | written by Eric Vinje of Cosmic Chile. |
| 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. So slather on the hot sauce and | | | | Shop online for hot sauce, salsas, spicy BBQ |
| know that you're not only improving the taste | | | | sauces and more. If it's fiery foods you're |
| of what you're eating, you may be getting rid | | | | after...we've got it! |