Can Hot Peppers Keep You Healthy?

Never Forget the Industrial Strength Hot Wing Incident of 2003

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Hello readers,

I think back achingly on the Industrial Strength Hot-wing Incident of 2003.

We were at the grand opening of a new restaurant with some acquaintances. It was the first time anyone ever invited James (Not his real name.) He was a bit of a mulleted wingnut, new to the area, that we didn’t know well. Shortly after this evening, James went on to prove how he was the kind of guy you do NOT want to hang out with.¹

James: “Look! They have regular strength hot wings, and Industrial strength! Let’s order the Industrial Strength Hot Wings. I bet I can eat more than you.”

Me: “Okay, I’m in.”

James and I order the wings as appetizers. The manager comes out to make us sign a waiver stating that we will not hold the restaurant responsible for what may come of our foolish life choices.

Later, when the waitress brings the wings out, we can smell them long before they arrive. Little waves of heat are emanating from the red, saucy bowls of torment. The grimacing girl holds the plates as far from her body as possible to avoid any sort of contact.

“Good luck,” she says as she sets them down in front of me.

As I bring the first one to my face, I accidentally inhale. I suffer the cost of my transgressions with a sneezing fit.

I eat two of what had once been perfectly good wings but are now more like an assassination attempt.

I lose all sense of taste or smell, my eyes won’t quit watering, and the room starts spinning. Even my feet are burning. I look over at Dave. He’s suffering too, but he has this maniac grin on his face. There’s hot sauce in his mustache, and his eyes are a little bloodshot. He looks like a dangerous savage.

James: “I’m gonna keep eatin’ ‘em until you quit!” —shoves another hot-sauce soaked chicken part in his face, getting some red demon blood on his chin.

I eat one more wing and admit defeat. I go to the men’s room and wash my hands thoroughly. When I return to the table, James cackles with an unnervingly high pitch at being the “winner.”

Fifteen minutes later, our main dish arrives at the table. I still have no sense of taste or smell. I could be eating cardboard as I push tasteless food into my mouth and pretend to have a good time.

I mistakenly touch the corner of my eye, and leftover toxic pepper gets in there, burning me like a thing that really burns. I run off to the bathroom to sluice my eye socket out under the tap.

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Science Says Hot Peppers Help

Do you like spicy food? Then here’s some great news. Studies show that hot peppers are a huge health booster. This is a license to burn the food world down. Sriracha on all the things!

It’s long been known that eating chili pepper has an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect. It also seems to help fight cancer and regulate blood glucose.

Capsaicin, the part of the hot pepper that gives us the burn, is the most well know ingredient. Peppers are also loaded with other nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins.

Here are some research highlights from the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions Report, Presentation P1036,

To make their conclusions, researchers examined 4,729 studies previously completed.

“The health and dietary records of more than 570,000 individuals in the United States, Italy, China and Iran were used to compare the outcomes of those who consumed chili pepper to those who rarely or never ate chili pepper.” — American Heart Association

It’s a straight-up comparison: regular chili pepper consumers vs. those who usually didn’t eat spicy foods. They found huge benefits to spicy food.

They found a 26% possible reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality, as well as 25% reduction in death from any cause. And finally, the data showed them 23 percent fewer cancer deaths.

Basically, eating hot peppers regularly reduces your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer by around 25% compared to if you ate none. A 25% difference. This isn’t some tiny study with only twelve individuals, they correlated data on over 570,000 people.

If these studies are correct, then some extra spice can counter the effects of other things in the diet that are not so good. But the study doesn’t tell us how much we need to use, and over how long a period of time. Do we need to spice up all of our food, every day? I suspect that like most supplements, a little bit on a more regular basis is more helpful than an Industrial Strength Wing-Binge once a year.

My favorite spice is powdered cayenne pepper, sprinkled into some homemade veggie soup. It’s easy to get just a little burn, or a lot, depending on the day.

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Can Hot Peppers Hurt You?

Yes. If you’re new to peppers, take it slow.

In general, unless you foolishly go for the Industrial Strength seasonings, you aren’t actually lighting on fire. That burning feeling is your pain receptors being turned on, not actual heat, so you don’t have to worry about it damaging you unless you go after the really potent, dangerous varieties. Even then, you will most likely live to tell the tale.

But that doesn’t mean you’re getting off easy. Some people have breathing difficulties, painful red lips, burning eyes, and a rumbling gut. And let’s not forget the extra fun of the burning ring of fire when it’s time to visit the special room and launch the torpedoes.

For those who want to try some spice for the first time, don’t start with ghost peppers. If you don’t eat spicy food very often, use some common sense. Otherwise, you will be in for a world of painful, burning hurt.

What’s your tolerance to spicy food? Do you pour it on, or avoid it like the plague?

1. James didn’t fit in with the group and we never invited him out again. He left his wife and moved to a different province. We found out much later that he murdered his new girlfriend, got back together with his wife, was investigated for murder for years, and finally got nailed by the cops with the “Mr. Big” operation, as undercover operatives drew him into a fictitious criminal organization in order to get a confession.