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ChilliChilli peppers can help you maintain optimum health through providing good quantities of the antioxidants vitamins C and A which help combat aging free-radical damage. They also contain a nutrient called capsaicin which has special anti-inflammatory properties, can help reduce congestion and can trigger the death of cancer cells in the prostate and pancreas. Our system responds to the spicy heat induced by chillies by secreting moisture. What is experienced by the tongue signals the brain to send messages for our airways to secrete moisture. This process is in part attributed to the capsaicin in chillies. When you are experiencing congestion due to a cold or flu, the secretions will help loosen mucus in the airways, helping with decongestion.
The heat generated by chillies also causes a process called thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is the production of heat by our bodies which requires energy. Because this is so, chillies are considered to require more energy to be metabolised than they provide in themselves. This means chillies could be considered as useful for weight reduction.
The capsaicin in chillies has also been shown in some studies to cause apoptosis in cancer cells. Apoptosis is the process whereby cells can programme their own death, cancer cells in prostate and pancreatic cancer have been shown to do this when exposed to high levels of capsaicin. Chillies are also useful in warding off stomach ulcers in that they stimulate digestive juices, which helps maintain a protective coating in the stomach, and they are also suggested as being useful in killing off some bacteria which aggravates the stomach.
Information supplied by Steph Askeur |