If you can handle the heat, hot peppers can improve your health! The main spicy chemical, capsaicin, has been shown to kill bacteria, fight inflammation, cure a chronic runny nose, help lose weight, reduce headache and arthritis pain, and even fight cancer.
Laboratory studies have demonstrated that capsaicin increases exercise tolerance and slows atherosclerosis. By activating the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TPRV1) receptor, a non-specific cation channel that permits the entry of calcium, capsaicin can even reduce the body’s excess sodium levels. Capsaicin lowers pain and increases metabolism through this pathway.
Although many people experience a burning sensation when they consume too much spicy food, capsaicin does not cause stomach ulcers, despite what the general public believes. Capsaicin does not stimulate stomach acid but rather inhibits it through TRPV1, which also stimulates alkali, mucus secretions and blood flow, which in turn help prevent and heal ulcers. Helicobacter pylori bacteria and too much acid are the main causes of ulcers.
Capsaicin is quickly absorbed and processed in the liver, where it stimulates the synthesis of important proteins that protect vascular cells and heart health, including thrombomodulin, COX-2, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and NRF-2-responsive antioxidant enzymes.
Additionally, research has demonstrated that capsaicin lowers blood sugar levels during glucose tolerance tests without lowering insulin levels, indicating that consuming a lot of foods high in capsaicin may help control type 1 diabetes.
In laboratory animals with hypertension, capsaicin paradoxically significantly lowers blood pressure at moderate dosages, despite the fact that very high doses have been linked to increases in blood pressure. Once more, the TRPV1 pathway and eNOS are responsible for this action, which in turn causes epithelial cells to produce nitric oxide. Protein kinase A is activated by prolonged TRPV1 stimulation, which also lowers blood pressure and promotes vasorelaxation.
However, one study found that Chinese participants who consumed large amounts of hot chillies (roughly 2 ounces or more per day) for 15 years had more memory issues and cognitive decline. These participants also had low BMIs, which are linked to low socioeconomic status. It seems that one can go too far.
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