Benefits and harms of spicy food. spicy foods

Many people do not like spicy food, as it causes a burning sensation in the mouth, and unpleasant sensations arise in the stomach. Many people cannot eat spices for health reasons. But there are also a large number of lovers of spicy, peppery dishes. Such taste sensations give them real pleasure.

Regarding the benefits of such food, opinions of experts differ. Some believe that the use of hot spices increases immunity, activates metabolic processes in the body. Others warn of the dangers of such food, as it can provoke heartburn, increases the risk of gastritis and peptic ulcers.

So is spicy food dangerous or not for health, the benefits and harms of it, what are they? To answer this question, let's look at all the arguments for and against:

Benefits of spicy food

Spicy, spicy seasonings have been used by people since ancient times. Not a single cuisine of the world can do without them. They enrich the taste of dishes, increase appetite. When consumed in moderation, they can provide tangible health benefits. At least that's what many nutritionists say.

So, for example, even the ancient Hindus successfully treated diseases with the help of spices. Until now, Indians know that cinnamon will relieve rheumatic and muscular pains, helps with arthritis. Coriander treats heartburn, helps to cope with infectious diseases. Fennel promotes weight loss, ginger cleanses the blood, and ginger tea is good for colds.

After a series of experiments, in 2009, Thai scientists found that regular consumption of hot chili peppers lowers blood sugar levels. Even earlier, in 2006, Australian scientists revealed the same property of hot pepper. They published their research, proving that the use of this seasoning reduces the risk of hyperinsulinemia. This condition is often a precursor to the development of type II diabetes.

In addition, hot pepper contributes to the improvement of blood vessels, cleanses them of cholesterol deposits, increasing the clearance. This hot seasoning contains capsaicin, a substance that destroys harmful bacteria that enter the human body with food.

The use of hot spices warms up the body, increases the release of adrenaline, lowers blood pressure. Their moderate use improves digestion, increases the secretion of gastric juice. This, in turn, activates blood circulation in the walls of the stomach, helps to restore its mucosa.

Spicy food stimulates perspiration during colds, relieves the condition of a patient with a high fever. Spices help to clear the nasal mucosa with a runny nose, contribute to the discharge of mucus when coughing.

Spicy food has a warming effect on the body, calms the nervous system. Therefore, its moderate use helps to fall asleep peacefully at night and sleep well.

It should be noted that spicy, spicy foods increase the content of hormones of joy - endorphin and serotonin. Therefore, the use of dishes with spicy spices improves mood, relieves stress well. Such food is even able to dull not very strong painful sensations.

Who is dangerous spicy food, what is the harm from it?

Despite the fact that spices, spicy-tasting foods can provide health benefits (if used in moderation), many experts believe that they are still more harmful. Therefore, it is recommended to use them in minimal quantities, or even completely abandon them.

The dangers of spicy food are obvious. This is due to the fact that it causes heartburn in many people. Especially when a person consumes it often and a lot. To avoid this trouble, you need to include spicy foods in the diet not constantly, but from time to time and only in small quantities.

Many of us know firsthand about the benefits of such popular products in our country as onions and garlic. They are added to many dishes, and are also used to treat a number of diseases. However, excessive use is fraught not only with persistent bad breath. With excessive enthusiasm for them, the risk of pancreatic diseases increases. Therefore, raw onions, garlic and similar pungent foods can be eaten in small quantities.

It must be understood that each nationality has developed its own food culture over the centuries. It depends on the race, on the climate where a person lives, and is also related to the way of his life. We are all different. Our preferences depend on what our ancestors ate from time immemorial. This or that food can be useful for one person, and it is dangerous for another to eat it. For example, a passion for spicy spices does little to threaten a Chilean or Korean. And in a European, this can cause the development of gastritis, pancreatitis, peptic ulcer.

In addition, sometimes doctors find migratory glossitis in lovers of spicy, spicy and salty foods. This disease is expressed in the constant irritation of the language receptors, from which the patient loses his taste. This disease requires mandatory treatment and the rejection of your favorite spicy food.

In conclusion, we note that any food acceptable to a given person should be present on his table, you should not give up your favorite foods.

However, in order not to harm your own health, not to suffer from heartburn, exhausting gastric pain, not to end up in a hospital with pancreatitis, do not get carried away with spices, hot, spicy seasonings and foods. Just eat them little by little, limit their amount when cooking. Then they will not harm your health. On the contrary, you will get real pleasure from their taste and aroma, and at the same time you will get the maximum benefit from their use.

Many studies prove that the use of certain spices makes food healthier. In particular, this applies to those spices that are literally "fiery". What is useful in them?

Improve the functioning of the digestive system. All spicy spices enhance the secretion of gastric juice. This helps to improve the flow to the gastric walls and restore the mucosa. In addition, capsaicin, which is rich in hot peppers, destroys bacteria that enter the digestive tract with food.

Help in the fight against colds. Hot spices increase perspiration, reducing the discomfort caused by the body. Also, spices cleanse the nasal passages and help remove mucus from the bronchi.

Help to fall asleep. The warming effect of spices helps to relax and fall asleep peacefully. And since lovers of spicy dishes are rarely crowded, a person gets enough sleep and wakes up in the morning cheerful and has breakfast.

They're filming. Spicy foods increase the content of pleasure hormones - serotonin and endorphin. Such food calms, suppresses the effects of stress and can even ease mild pain.

Arguments against spicy food

Experts, despite the obvious health benefits, advise eating hot spices with caution, and sometimes even recommend giving them up altogether. What's the matter?

. Excessive amounts of spicy foods in the diet can cause gastritis - inflammation of the stomach lining. As a rule, it is caused by an infection, however, constant irritation of the stomach walls with spicy food can cause a weakening of the protective barrier.

. Spicy and spicy foods increase the secretion of gastric juice and can cause - throwing the mass contained in the stomach into. Most often this happens after plentiful feasts.

Unpleasant "aroma" from the mouth. Spicy seasonings that contain garlic and onions are kept in the mouth for a long time. bad smell.

Violation of the sensitivity of taste buds. Consuming spicy foods regularly can cause your taste buds to malfunction. This explains the addiction to the use of hot spices and the rejection of insipid food, which begins to seem tasteless.

Know when to stop

Regardless of the fact that spicy foods can be healthy, they should not be overused. Remember that the discomfort experienced by a person in the process of tasting spicy food is a signal from the body that there has been a violation of its normal functioning.

The most careful monitoring of the use of hot spices should be people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract or with increased sensitivity to hot tastes. Learn to use spices in moderation to enjoy their flavor and maximize health benefits.

There are contraindications, consult your doctor.

Spicy food differs from all other foods in that when it is used, a person feels a burning sensation in the mouth. In connection with this fact, many myths have appeared around spicy food regarding the effect on health and figure. Some people use it to treat diseases or lose weight, while others consider it very unhealthy and do not use it at all. Who is right?

Harm of spicy food

Most people consider spicy food to be unhealthy. Why? Probably the reason is that in many diets such foods are prohibited. In particular, they should not be used for gastritis or peptic ulcer, inflammatory bowel pathologies, chronic pancreatitis.

In fact, spicy food rarely harms a healthy person, only if it is consumed in excess. Possible harm from spicy food:

Spicy food stimulates the release of hydrochloric acid, which can be thrown into the esophagus (especially with insufficiency of the cardiac sphincter).
Abdominal pain. Spicy food irritates the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract.
Smell from the mouth. Some foods are best not consumed before going out into the public.
Chair disorders. Spicy food stimulates intestinal motility, and in some cases can cause diarrhea.

do not eat spicy foods on an empty stomach;
know the measure;
refuse spicy food if you have a stomach ache, or there are diseases of the digestive system.

Benefits of spicy food

Although spicy food is harmful for patients with gastritis or pancreatitis, it is useful for some categories of people. Possible benefits of this food:

Stimulation of digestion. Spicy food helps improve appetite, stimulates the production of digestive juices, improves digestion, and reduces the likelihood of dyspepsia after eating.
Prevention of constipation. Spicy food irritates the intestinal wall, increasing peristalsis.
Antiplatelet action. Some spicy foods reduce blood clotting, which in old age is useful for the prevention of heart disease.
Antimicrobial action. Spicy foods often contain phytoncides, which reduce the likelihood of intestinal infection when eating foods contaminated with bacteria.

The mythical benefits of spicy food, which are often described on the Internet, but in reality you will not get it:

vitaminization of the body;
strengthening immunity;
stimulation of lactation;
removal of toxins;
crushing stones in the gallbladder;
normalization of the composition of the intestinal microflora;
weight loss;
reduction of joint pain;
cancer and diabetes prevention.

spicy food for weight loss

Many people believe that spicy food helps to lose weight. This is allegedly due to the stimulation of metabolism. Such an erroneous opinion among people has developed due to the fact that spicy food causes a burning sensation. Considering that the release of heat is always accompanied by the expenditure of energy, it seems that the consumption of calories does increase.

In fact, spicy food does not cause your body tissues to warm up, and the feeling of warmth it creates is false. It is not accompanied by a real increase in temperature, since it is caused not by an increase in heat production, but by irritation of the receptors. This has been confirmed by clinical studies that have shown no effect of spicy food on body weight in humans.

Moreover, this group of foods can prevent weight loss, and even increase your weight. Spicy food stimulates digestion and appetite. As a result, your diet may increase, which will result in an increase in body fat mass. On a diet, it is better to refrain from eating a large amount of pepper, garlic, mustard and other similar products in order to reduce the likelihood of a breakdown.

spicy food diet

The opinion that spicy food stimulates the process of losing weight is so rooted in the minds of people that the so-called “spicy diet” has appeared, supposedly allowing you to lose 5 kg in 7 days. It assumes the same menu for every day. An important feature of the diet is the need to add red ground pepper to all foods. In just a day, you need to eat at least 1 teaspoon with a slide.

Daily diet menu for spicy food:

1 piece of bread (50 g);
250 g chicken;
half a boiled egg;
2 cups of kefir;
a teaspoon with a mountain of honey;
half a kilogram of berries or fruits;
vegetables - no restrictions.

The diet is allegedly due to its high efficiency, which speeds up metabolism. In fact, you are unlikely to lose weight on it. Firstly, a week is not enough for this, even if you refuse to eat at all. Secondly, the diet cannot be called too scarce.

Let's turn to the numbers. Let's calculate the calories:

chicken - 400 kcal;
half an egg - 30 kcal;
honey - 40 kcal;
fruits - 200 kcal;
kefir - 200 kcal;
bread - 130 kcal.

Total comes out about 1000 kcal per day. It seems to be not much, but for losing weight by 5 kg per week it is clearly not enough, given that vegetables without restrictions are attached to this amount. Perhaps if pepper really could significantly speed up metabolism, the diet would be effective, but spicy foods do not have such properties.

During pregnancy

Spicy food is undesirable during pregnancy. It does not pose a threat to the baby, but it causes significant discomfort to the woman. Pregnancy is often accompanied by heartburn. With spicy food, gastroesophageal reflux will intensify - it will become even more painful and burning.

But some women during pregnancy are drawn to garlic, mustard and pepper, like a magnet. How to act in such cases? It depends on the condition of your gastrointestinal tract. If nothing hurts you, and there is no heartburn, eat spicy food to your heart's content. But with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and the presence of dyspeptic phenomena, it is better to keep your desires in check and abandon this group of products.

Conclusion

Spicy food may be harmful for some people, beneficial for others, but for most it will be neutral - just another food group, no more, no less. Such food, contrary to popular belief, does not stimulate the process of losing weight. But spicy food improves appetite and prevents constipation, reduces blood clotting and destroys pathogenic microbes. It is worth remembering that these products irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, so people with chronic pancreatitis or erosive and ulcerative lesions of the digestive tract should refuse them.

Source:

Article protected by copyright and related rights.!

Similar articles:

Categories
- (30)
- (380)
  - (101)
- (383)
  - (199)
- (252)
  - (35)
- (1411)
  - (214)
  - (246)
  - (135)
  - (144)

Spicy food is a frequent guest on the tables of many of us. At the same time, someone considers such food extremely useful, and someone believes that it is very harmful to the body. In this case, you should not go to extremes - it is important not to forget that everything is good in moderation, because in moderation spicy food can help the human body cope with a great many unpleasant conditions and even prevent the occurrence of quite dangerous ailments. What is the use of such food?

Reducing inflammation and pain

Many people who have ever experienced muscle pain or debilitating joint pain have probably resorted to all kinds of ointments and balms containing capsaicin more than once. And do not be surprised - the capsaicin contained in hot peppers is really a powerful tool for blocking pain! Significantly reducing the intensity of pain, it simultaneously promotes the production of collagenase and prostaglandins, endowed with the ability not only to relieve pain, but also to get rid of any manifestations of inflammatory processes. Approximately similarly, capsaicin works in the composition of spicy foods, so do not give up the idea of \u200b\u200bsprinkling this or that dish with a small amount of hot pepper.
However, not only red, but also black pepper, which contains an equally valuable substance called piperine, helps to cope with inflammatory processes in the body. In addition to the fact that this very piperine copes with inflammation, it also suppresses the activity of a gene directly associated with the development of cancer and arthritis. And it quickly suppresses the perception of pain!
Ginger root also boasts pronounced anti-inflammatory properties. It not only perfectly soothes the pain of arthritis, but is also incredibly effective for nausea, diarrhea or vomiting. In addition, cardamom and turmeric are widely used to reduce inflammation.

Help prevent cancer

Ginger, black and red peppers, as well as turmeric and a range of other spices are endowed with powerful antioxidant effects. No wonder Indians get cancer much less often than Europeans. And even though many people in India smoke a lot, their incidence of lung cancer is eight times lower than in most other countries! But all this is due to the fact that the Indian diet is literally replete with all kinds of spices!

Salt restriction

People who regularly consume spicy foods consume much smaller amounts of salt than those of their counterparts who do not like such dishes at all. And this is understandable: mustard, ginger, as well as pepper or garlic can become excellent substitutes for salt, giving various dishes their unique taste!

Help in losing weight

Spicy food will serve well for everyone who wants to lose weight, because it is the best assistant in accelerating the metabolic processes occurring in the body. Cayenne pepper has proven itself especially well in such an important matter - it is he who can most often be seen as part of diets for cleansing and losing weight. People who regularly have this valuable product in their diet are much less likely to be overweight or obese. Moreover, it is simply not possible to eat too much spicy, and this, in turn, allows you to much better control the amount of calories absorbed. And despite the fact that spicy foods increase appetite, spicy fans almost never overeat!

Reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases

One of the main causes of various cardiovascular diseases is the gradual accumulation of plaque on the walls of the arteries, which inevitably entails significant difficulties in moving blood through the human body. In order to avoid such troubles, it is recommended to include chilli peppers in your diet - the capsaicin contained in them will in every possible way help improve the condition of blood vessels and reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol. Moreover, experts from Hong Kong found that spicy food is an excellent prophylactic against a great variety of cardiovascular ailments. It helps not only strengthen the walls of blood vessels, but also significantly reduce blood pressure!

Relief from depression, anxiety and headaches

Pepper is a truly unique cure for headaches and migraines. In addition, the dishes seasoned with it perfectly help in the fight against depression and are endowed with the ability to cheer up, because the capsaicin contained in appetizing peppers significantly increases the level of endorphins, serotonins and other hormones responsible for a good mood.

Healthy and sound sleep

Spicy dishes are also an excellent prevention of insomnia - their pleasant warming effect perfectly helps to quickly relax and fall asleep very quickly. However, in the morning, a person who eats such foods will wake up cheerful and rested, because he will get enough sleep!

Digestive protection

Many people try to avoid spicy foods, believing that they are the cause of heartburn or ulcers, but in reality this is absolutely not the case - moderate consumption of spicy foods is extremely beneficial for the digestive system. What's more, a recent Asian study found that people who avoid capsaicin-containing foods are three times more likely to be attacked by peptic ulcers than those who eat spicy foods.
Spicy food perfectly stimulates the production of gastric juice, which to a large extent contributes to the gradual restoration of vulnerable mucous membranes of the stomach and improves blood flow to its walls. Capsaicin is also an excellent fighter against bacteria entering the digestive tract along with food!

Fighting a cold

Effectively stimulating sweating processes, spicy dishes significantly reduce the discomfort caused by the increase in temperature. But their beneficial effect on the body does not end there either - among other things, they contribute to a better discharge of accumulated sputum from the bronchi and the speedy removal of nasal congestion.

Possible harm

Of course, spicy food can cause some harm to the body, but most often this happens only if it is consumed excessively. Since such food contributes to a more active production of gastric juice, in too large quantities it can provoke heartburn, in other words, the contents of a satiated stomach will simply begin to be slowly thrown out into the esophagus. Especially often heartburn becomes a consequence of plentiful meals. In addition, excessive consumption of spicy foods can lead to inflammation of the gastric mucosa, or to gastritis, because constantly irritating its walls with various spices, a person thereby significantly reduces their protective barrier.
Fans of garlic and onions often face such a phenomenon as bad breath, which can sometimes be very difficult to get rid of, so you should not use these products immediately before important events or business meetings. And the abuse of spicy foods can easily lead to disruption of the taste buds, as a result of which bland food generally begins to seem completely tasteless. However, too sharp taste of spices can be neutralized - for example, with the help of lemon, which perfectly switches taste buds from a bright spicy taste to a rich sour one. Also, hot peppers can always be eaten with boiled rice, which will act as a sorbent, binding and neutralizing the capsaicin contained in the pepper.
Particular care should be taken when eating spicy foods for people suffering from various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract or who are hypersensitive to such foods. These people need to learn how to correctly dose such foods and constantly monitor their condition during their use.

In general, you should not be afraid of spicy food, because it can really become an excellent assistant on the way to health and beauty, the most important thing is not to get carried away with it too much, and then, without a doubt, everything will be in perfect order! No wonder mankind has been using various spices since ancient times, trying to get the maximum health benefits from them! Someone who, and our ancestors definitely knew a lot about seasonings!

Photo: Bernd Juergens/Rusmediabank.ru, yelenayemchuk/Rusmediabank.ru, subbotina/Rusmediabank.ru, Volodymyr Melnyk/Rusmediabank.ru, siamphotos

The taste preferences of all people are quite different, but at the same time they may well be classified. Among them, it is easy to single out lovers of sweets, meat, fruits and other options. One of the popular flavors is spicy. But how hot are dishes with spicy additives, disputes around their benefits or harm blaze just as much.

What makes food spicy?

We will surprise you very much now, but we feel spicy, burning food with special receptors in our tongue - temperature. It is thanks to them that after mint “a draft in the mouth”, after menthol toothpaste or chewing gum there is also a feeling of coolness, and after a good portion of Asian dishes there will be a feeling that someone has lit a huge fire on the tongue. These receptors are sensitive to the substance capsaicin, which excites them and makes it possible to feel a burning or pungent taste. A striking example of its high content is cayenne pepper, chili or jalapeno, which is used in abundance in Mexican cuisine. But this substance does not only affect the tongue. The fact is that capsaicin causes not only a feeling of warmth or even heat, but also causes a strong rush of blood to the surface with which it interacted - be it the skin on the arm, the tongue or the gastric mucosa. And it is the last interaction that causes a lot of fear and suspicion that spicy food can be unsafe.

What's wrong with spicy food?

The first answer will be extremely simple - in the lack of a sense of proportion in the meal. That is why only those risks that may await us with moderate consumption of savory dishes will be further considered.

Some believe that burning foods can cause diseases of the stomach and duodenum. However, this is true only for those cases when a person already has a disease in a non-acute stage or simply has not yet been identified. Therefore, they are not recommended to be eaten by people with gastritis or an ulcer, just so as not to provoke inflammatory processes.

Another unpleasant effect of "fiery" food is heartburn. A strong rush of blood causes an increase in the secretion of gastric juice and its excess is thrown into the esophagus, causing an unpleasant burning sensation. But not all people are subject to this phenomenon.

And finally, the dulling of taste sensations, which occurs with regular and abundant consumption of spicy foods. But harmful influence has a reverse side of the coin.

The benefits of spicy

It is due to its irritating property that spicy food attracts a large amount of blood to the location. Thanks to this, the condition is relieved with colds, sputum discharge is improved with bronchitis, acute respiratory infections and other conditions accompanied by a cough.

Another stimulating effect contributes to faster weight loss due to the activation of cardio-vascular system, accelerating blood flow, removing toxins and excess fluids from tissues. The only condition is that the food should not be too salty, otherwise the salt will still provoke the preservation and even increase in edema.

In addition, scientists have concluded that spicy foods contribute to the production of serotonin, which can help improve mood. So a Mexican salad may well be a good alternative to a box of chocolates in case of heartache.

So, to summarize: spicy food helps to activate the body, tones up, helps to fight excess weight for those people who do not have ulcers or gastritis. It can help fight colds and depression. However, it, nevertheless, should not be abused, since such a diet cannot be the basis of a correct or.