The Health Implications of Spicy Foods

Introduction

Spicy foods can trigger abdominal pain in some people and cause ulcers. One study highlighted that frequent spicy foods could trigger upper gastrointestinal symptoms in a few people with dyspepsia (indigestion). People feel spiciness after consuming spicy foods because of capsaicin, a chemical component in the chili pepper that produces heat.

Capsaicin, a chemical found in hot pepper, will bind to the pain receptors on the tongue surface when an individual consumes spicy foods. It tricks the brain into thinking that a temperature change results in the sensation of heat or pain.

What Will Happen When an Individual Consumes Spicy Foods?

• Sweating accompanies spicy foods because the body reacts to capsaicin to cool down.
• Similarly, people are seen with flushed faces and wet hands. Heat can be directed away from the body through the skin due to the dilation of capillaries.
• After consuming spicy food, the body attempts to cool down by increasing its temperature so the heat experienced by an individual will be imaginary.
• An individual body attempts to remove the capsaicin in spicy foods by increasing the production of saliva, mucus, and tears, resulting in a runny nose, drooling, and even watery eyes.
• The irritant passes from the individual mouth into the throat and then travels through the gastrointestinal tract's length.
• After consuming spicy foods, the sensation disappears within twenty minutes because the capsaicin molecule neutralizes and stops binding to pain receptors.

What are the specific reactions developed in an individual body?

Some of the specific reactions developed in an individual body are:

• Hiccups are produced in the body when irritation in the phrenic nerve is caused because it controls the motor function of the diaphragm.
• The hoarseness of the voice seen when the throat is swollen makes breathing difficult.
• Diarrhea occurs when there is an increased rate of digestion in the intestine.
• When food is spicier, vomiting and nausea are seen.
• If TRPV1 pain receptors are activated more, it leads to painful bowel movements in the gut.
• The entire capsaicin compound is not digested in the stomach; only a small amount is digestible.
• When capsaicin binds with pain receptors in the esophagus, a burning sensation in the chest is seen.
• Stomach pain and cramping are seen when there is a temporary increase in metabolic rate, leading to an increase in mucus production.

How Does Spicy Food Cause Long-Term Damage to the Body?

• There are no severe or lasting dangers to an individual's health that requires medical treatment, only when healthy people participate in extreme challenges involving the consumption of record-setting hot peppers in spicy foods. Excessive consumption of anything could be dangerous.

• There are exceptions to the harm created by the intake of spicy foods, which is seen in some high school students in California who participated in the "one chip challenge," which includes eating a chip made at different markets with the hottest peppers and being hospitalized after having difficulty breathing.

• People admitted to ER (emergency room) are rare, with spontaneous esophagus rupture, constricted blood vessels in the brain, and thunderclap headaches.

• It is best to avoid spicy foods for an individual with some underlying medical condition, which includes:

1. Celiac disease.
2. Issues in the gallbladder.
3. Ulcers in the stomach are usually not caused by spicy foods.
4. Irritable bowel syndrome.
5. Inflammatory bowel disease comprises Crohn's disease or ileitis and ulcerative colitis (chronic inflammatory bowel disease).
6. Anal fissures.
7. Acid reflux or gastroesophageal syndrome.

What Are the Health Benefits of Spicy Foods?

There are no extended-lasting benefits to taking spicy foods, but there are a few health benefits of it over time are:

• Helps to Lose Weight: People burn more calories during exercise and at rest through the help of capsaicin, a component present in spicy foods, by reducing appetite and boosting metabolism.

• Helps to Improve Stomach Health: Capsaicin helps to prevent ulcers by inhibiting acid production in the stomach.

• It Provides a Longer Life Span: People who eat more spicy foods less than once a week have a higher mortality rate than those who eat spicy foods six or seven times a week, as an extensive population-based study published in 2015.

• Helps to Manage Pain: In specific pain relief medications, capsaicin is essential in some patches and creams to treat conditions.

1. Headache.
2. Gout.
3. Sciatica.
4. Shingles (post-herpetic neuralgia).
5. Back pain.
6. Fibromyalgia.
7. Osteoarthritis.
8. Rheumatoid arthritis.
9. Joint pain.
10. Tendonitis includes tennis elbow.
11. Trigeminal neuralgia (a rare facial pain syndrome).
12. Neuropathy.

• Improves Gut Health: Surprisingly spicy foods can improve the microbiome by having a calming and inflammatory effect on gut health.

• Improves Skin Health: In conditions like atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, capsaicin is essential in reducing inflammation, scaling, and redness in the individual body.

• Helps in the Prevention of Cancer: In several types of cancer cells, capsaicin can suppress metastasis growth.

• It Helps to Lower Blood Cholesterol: The LDL (Low-density lipoprotein) is also known as bad cholesterol; having lowered levels because of a connection with heart disease is shown in research on people eating spicy foods.

What Are the Examples of Harmful Effects of Eating Spicy Foods?

• An article published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine gives information about an individual who ate ghost pepper as a part of a contest and started vomiting violently. Eventually, the person vomited so hard it led to the rupture of his esophagus.
• The esophagus rupture was due to vomiting and not from the direct effects of hot peppers.

Conclusion:

Spicy foods have both good and bad effects on health. They may feel the burn if an individual has anal fissures, but it does not cause hemorrhoids(a swollen vein or group of veins in the region of the anus). Spicy foods should not touch an individual's eyes. Spicy meals should be avoided because they create stomach pain rather than ulcers. Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease, dyspepsia, or irritable bowel syndrome should be careful. While handling super hot peppers, gloves should be used. Individuals should be conscious of watching warning labels on spicy food before buying it; individuals should eat them at their own risk.