Adding Chilies to Your Diet May Prevent Peptic Ulcers
Can a capsaicin-rich diet prevent peptic ulcers? It has been a widely held belief that people who have been diagnosed with peptic ulcers should avoid spicy foods in their diets. However, new research challenges this advice and suggests that capsaicin, which is the chemical source of the heat in chilies, with the highest concentration found in the white pith around the seeds, may protect the gastric mucosal membrane against damage caused by alcohol and aspirin ingestion.
Jin Y. Lang, MD of National University of Singapore, and his colleagues published the results of their research, which analyzed the gastro-protective effect of intragastric and subcutaneous (beneath the skin) administration of 2 mg of capsaicin on laboratory rats. The intragastric and subcutaneous doses of capsaicin were equivalent to 200 mg in single doses or a 200 mg daily dose for 4 weeks consumed by humans. Ethanol (component in alcoholic beverages) induced gastric mucosal injury was carried out on the test subjects. The researchers found that both the mucosa and gastric juices had higher mucus content when capsaicin rather than saline (salt containing solution) was given prior to the ethanol challenge.
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