Hot peppers are a spicy, tasty addition to your meal plan, but they may also play a role in many health issues, both negative and positive. Consult your physician for the best treatment options when hot peppers cause health problems, and never use this vegetable to treat a disease or health condition without first discussing it with your healthcare provider.
Heartburn Trigger
One health issue in which hot peppers figure prominently is heartburn, a condition that occurs when stomach acid kicks up and ascends up your esophagus, unchecked by a loosened esophageal sphincter, or the ring of muscle that is supposed to separate the stomach contents from the esophagus. Eating hot peppers triggers heartburn in many people, so if this food causes heartburn for you, consider removing hot peppers from your diet.
Hot Pepper Burns
Handling hot peppers may burn your skin or other membranes you touch after getting capsaicin, a compound found in these vegetables, on your hands -- this includes eyes and gums. The burn is usually a mild reddening of the area accompanied by a burning sensation, although the reaction may be more severe. To treat your skin, drink milk or rub it on the affected area -- the casein in the milk loosens the capsaicin oils. If you get hot pepper compounds in your eyes, rinse repeatedly with water. Using latex gloves when handling peppers helps you avoid this health issue.
Hot Peppers and Cancer
Hot peppers may play a role in fighting cancer. Research featured in the 2011 issue of the journal "Nutrition and Cancer" indicates that the capsaicin in hot peppers reduced the growth of cancerous tumors and killed off blood vessels that feed the tumor, effectively killing it, in a laboratory setting. These actions have proven effective for a range of cancer varieties, including gastric cancer and melanoma.
Pain Relief
Topical application of capsaicin from hot peppers may effectively reduce pain in some cases, which seems counterintuitive given the skin burn hot peppers can produce. A study published in the July 2011 journal "Pain Medicine" notes that capsaicin patches are useful for dampening pain triggered by nerve damage. Research available in the July 2011 "Drugs" journal suggests that capsaicin's nerve-deadening abilities may not be fully reversible, so exercise caution when using hot peppers to deal with the health issue of nerve pain.
References
- "The New York Times"; Eating Spicy Food: What Are the Effects?; J.E. Brody; September 1983
- New Mexico State University: Frequently Asked Questions
- "Nutrition and Cancer"; Tumor Cell Growth Inhibition Is Correlated With Levels of Capsaicin Present in Hot Peppers; D. Dou, et al.; 2011
- "Biochemica et Biophysica Acta"; TRPV6 Mediates Capsaicin-Induced Apoptosis in Gastric Cancer Cells; J. Chow, et al.; April 2007
- "Food and Chemical Toxicology"; Capsaicin Induced Apoptosis of B16-F10 Melanoma Cells Through Down-Regulation of Bcl-2; H.S. Jun, et al.; May 2007
- "Pain Medicine"; New Developments in The Treatment Algorithm of Peripheral Neuropathic Pain; O. de Leon-Casasola; July 2011
