Are Chilli Peppers Good For Health?

Wellness

oi-Anwesha

By Anwesha Barari

Monday, March 12, 2012, 12:20

Are chilli peppers health wise beneficial? In one word the answer would have to yes but like everything else, conditions apply. Chillies do have benefits for your health that obviously cannot be denied. In fact, chillies are also found to cure certain health conditions. However, if you have a history of stomach ulcers then it best for you to avoid hot chillies no matter what these peppers do for your health.

Having said that here are some of the best things that chillies can do for your health.

Ways In Which Chilli Peppers Affect Health:

1. Clears Cold Congestion: This is the most obvious benefit of chillies. What is the first thing you feel like having when all your openings are blocked with cold? A nice hot and spicy soup. When you drink a hot soup then you sweat and also, your nose starts flowing. Hot and spicy food can clear nasal congestion with immediate effect.

2. A Must For Diabetics: If you are a diabetic then your health depends on pepper and chillies heavily. The main 'heat-producing' chemical in chillies is capsaicin and it helps regulate the levels of insulin in the body. There are more chances your blood sugar being in control if you have just had a spicy meal.

3. Pain Relieving Properties: Although you associate the hot chillies that you eat with pain, it works out in the opposite way. Capsaicin blocks out the pain perceiving chemical in the body called Substance P and thus you feel no pain. What your tongue feels is heat not pain.

4.Osteoarthritis: This is a rather painful disease that is specifically ailing women over 40 these days. It is combination of deficiency of calcium resulting osteoporosis and the arthritis that gives you joint ache for life. Now it has been proven that chillies due to their pain relieving properties might be the only possible cure for an other wise incurable osteoarthritis!

5. Heart Healthy Spice: Normally, it is believed that spicy food is not heart healthy. But chillies have benefits for heart patinets who are battling clogged arteries. The spice producing element in chillies is supposed to help in thinning down the blood so that you have a substantially lesser risk of strokes.

6. Hot Chillies For A Hot Figure: Yes, it is true, chillies can help lose weight. Firstly because they are not exactly rich in calories themselves. But they are thermogenic, in other words, they produce heat in your body and this heat burns fats. It is like a sauna for your body but from the inside. However, do not try to be on a diet of only chillies to lose weight, you will end up with ulcers all over your mouth and digestive tract.

Chilli peppers for your health are the best when they are eaten raw because you can get the virgin capsaicin content in them that way.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.