HOT Chilies: Friend or Foe
Recently, my husband, our teenage son, and I were watching an episode of Man vs. Food, on the Travel Channel. The host, Adam Richman, was taking on the food challenge of the "hottest chili sauce known to man". My son raised the question, "Is eating really hot spicy food bad for you?" My husband, a gastroenterologist, replied that spicy food did not damage the stomach. He had heard that capsaicin, which is the active component in chilies, was used to treat H. pylori. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is caused by the bacterium, H. pylorus, which infects the stomach and the first part of the small intestines. Untreated, this infection can lead to ulcers and stomach cancer.
I searched for evidence. "Spicy Food and the Stomach" by David Y. Graham, MD is a case study of the effect of ingesting hot spicy foods. Dr. Graham and his associates conducted a trial of administering test meals offered at the noon and evening meal. Twelve individuals, eight men and four women, who ranged in age from 24 to 43, received a baseline endoscopy, were served all four of the test meals, and underwent a repeat endoscopy twelve hours after the last test meal was eaten. The meals included a negative control, which consisted of a bland meal, a positive control, which was a bland meal plus 1950 mg of aspirin, a spicy meal with 30 grams of jalapeno pepper, and a pepperoni pizza. The data showed that 11 of the 12 subjects taking the bland meal plus aspirin developed multiple gastric erosion and single cases of single erosion were present after the spicy meal and the pepperoni pizza meal.
Finally, approximately 30 grams of freshly ground jalapeno peppers were placed directly into the stomach. Endoscopic examination conducted twenty-four hours later revealed no visible mucosal damage. (1)
"Garlic or Jalapeno Peppers for Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection" addresses the effect of garlic and jalapeno peppers in inhibiting H. pylori. Dr. Graham and his colleagues selected twelve individuals, seven males and five females, ages 27 to 51.
Add A New CommentWe value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
Add A New CommentComments
There are no comments yet. Be the first to get the conversation started.