The Amazing Health Benefits of Eating Hot Chili Peppers
Eating hot chili peppers is a great way to stay healthy, naturally. Chili is a wonderful natural remedy, providing a huge number of health benefits, both treating and protecting from illness, disease, and various medical conditions.
I’ve always believed nature will provide a cure for everything, should we take the time to look hard enough. Here’s one of my favourite cooking ingredients, which happens to provide many benefits to general health, and act as a preventative to several dreadful illnesses and conditions.
Image via Wikipedia
Eating hot chili peppers regularly is a great way to stay healthy. It’s most helpful to eat your chili peppers whole, and as hot as you can take them. This is because the active substance contained in chili peppers, called capsaicin, is located mainly in the pips and pith (the part usually removed prior to cooking).
There may be many more benefits to eating chili than those I’ve listed below, but the effects of eating chili haven’t been thoroughly investigated. Here are the known benefits:
- One chili contains more vitamin C than the average orange.
- Eating chili has been shown to lower cholesterol.
- Eating chili can raise your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories) by up to 23% for three hours after eating. Therefore, eating chili regularly can aid you in weight-loss.
Image via Wikipedia
- Studies have shown that eating chili kills 80% of prostrate cancer cells, and can even prevent them forming.
- A study showed eating chili is also protective against stomach cancer.
Image via Wikipedia
- Eating chili can ease the pain caused by Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), because chili peppers also contain a pain-killing neuropeptide.
- When applied topically, capsaincin (an active substance found in chili peppers) provides pain relief from osteoarthritis, and may also help ease pain from diabetic neuropathy.
- Eating chili has been shown to reduce the amount of fibrin in the blood, therefore preventing clotting. Studies show that areas where chili consumption is higher than average have less deaths from heart disease than those areas with residents who don’t consume chili regularly.
- Eating chili prevents and clears sinus congestion, eases sinus pain and headaches, and also provides pain relief from migraines and cluster headaches.
- Eating chili has been shown to reduce the amount of insulin required by diabetics by up to 60%.
- Because of it’s pain-relieving properties, chili can have a therapeutic, relaxing effect on the body.
Image via Wikipedia
With these facts taken into consideration, you might want to take the time to look up few hot and spicy recipes, and start eating chili as regularly as you can.
If you enjoyed this article you may like the following:
| IBS: Symptoms and Self-Diagnosis |
The Importance of Medicinal Plants and A Brief History of Pharmaceutical Medicine
A Powerful, Natural Aphrodisiac for Men & Women
Five Herbal Remedies for Treating Insomnia and Anxiety and Promoting General Relaxation
Liked it
martinpm | Sep 28, 2009 | Reply
Very informative.nice article.
Guy Hogan | Sep 28, 2009 | Reply
I didn’t know any of this. And I like hot food. Great.
CaSundara | Sep 28, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for your comments, folks. I was trying to work out why I can’t eat black pepper (I have IBS), yet can eat tons of chili. When I discovered all the other benefits I had to share – talk about a miracle food!
WriteEditSeek | Oct 14, 2009 | Reply
I absolutely love hot chili peppers. I’ve wondered whether they are good for you or not, so this answers my question! Yay! Nice article. I love all the cool pics, too.
CaSundara | Oct 14, 2009 | Reply
Me too, and I’m still amazed by the benefits they have. I’ve been eating nothing but chili con carne and curry for dinner for over a week!
lillyrose | Oct 17, 2009 | Reply
This is fantastic! I have had a craving for chilly over the bast couple of days, I even put chilli powder in baked beans tonight. I always listen to my body, it seems to tell me when I need to eat more of one thing or another. But I will be eating more chilli for sure!
CaSundara | Oct 17, 2009 | Reply
@Lilyrose – I agree that we seem to crave that which we need. I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Keep eating that chili!
Ken | Oct 16, 2010 | Reply
How reliable is this info?
Having been a user of hot chili for many years I developed prostate cancer and wondered if it might have helped bring it on. Since surgery I have been frightened to use it as it seems that common sense says it causes inflammation rather than reduces it – e.g. too liberal a meal of hot chili may leave mouth inflamed and even rectum the next day. How can it be an anti-inflamatory?
Ken
mostpopulararticle | Jan 11, 2011 | Reply
Your Triond feed was subscribed by The Triond Experiment blog and when your articles happen to be related to the blog posts, your article links are automatically pulled up and attached with the blog posts as “Related Articles”.
This article is currently showed as a Related Article under 10 Benefits of Green Tea .
Thanks and best of luck!
smcopywrite | Nov 19, 2011 | Reply
i have heard this before. there are health benefits for this food. great article and interesting info. thanks for the share
http://www.thewritestuffpenandpaper.blogspot.com
1Arjun | Jan 29, 2012 | Reply
These are really Interesting facts. Really surprised to see that Chillies are a source of Vit C. I love adding green chillies to my food.
michael varger | May 19, 2012 | Reply
Thank you very much for the well presented and easy to read & retain information on the incredible health benefits of chilli. I have been told over & over that my passion for chilli was a curse on my stomach. I am happy to learn that my love affair with the red hot chilli is a huge health advantage, and a cure NOT curse for my stomach. MANY THANKS
IBSpatient | Sep 6, 2012 | Reply
There aren’t facts at all. Considering that chillies are known to make IBS much worse, and in recent studies the cause of this has been discovered to be that people with IBS have a greater than average level of spice pain receptors (that cause us to feel the sensation of heat).
I only need a little bit of chilli in my food to make me extremely fatigued for days with my IBS.
As for increasing the metabolism, the number given is pure nonsense. Research suggests there may be a slight increase, but nothing significant.
And as for the arthritis benefits, that’s down to topical capsaicin (as you stated), however it’s not reasonable to claim that eating chillies will provide the same benefit.
Eba | Oct 11, 2012 | Reply
Thanx for an update, from now on chillies only with my food!! Some say it even increases libido.
Big Al | Feb 11, 2013 | Reply
After extensive research I ate a chili everyday for two weeks. I couldn’t believe 2 weeks later, my penis had grown 2 inches. I now have 4 inches total of manhood and life’s never been better.