Spicy food – calm stomach?

Opinions about spicy food vary: some consider it unhealthy, while others attribute good health to the habit of regularly eating spicy food. While some eat spicy food to aid digestion, there are people who  get heartburn  or  diarrhea from a meal containing hot spices  . Hot spices do have benefits, but don’t overdo it either.

Eating spicy makes you happy

Capsaicin  is the name of the active ingredient that, along with other capsaicinoids, is responsible for the hot taste in chili and paprika. While tasteless, it irritates the nerve endings that normally sense heat impulses. We perceive this as a burning sharpness.

In fact, our brain receives a pain signal when we eat spicy food. As a result, endorphins are released. The situation is similar with the substance piperine in pepper; this is also referred to as the “pepper high effect”. Chili and other hot spices are therefore sometimes even referred to as a type of natural drug, because the happiness hormones can have a relaxing effect on the body.

Eating Spicy: Healthy or Unhealthy?

Imagine eating a particularly fiery portion of chili con carne. After just a few bites, you’ll get hot and beaded with sweat. This is because spicy food  activates heat receptors  . This stimulates the blood circulation in the tissue, the pores open, we sweat – this is believed to be the reason for the often spicy cuisine in many hot countries, because spicy food thus lowers the body temperature.

Furthermore, many ingredients of hot spices or foods have an antibacterial effect. Spicy vegetables such as onions,  garlic  and leeks have an antibiotic and disinfecting effect. Spicy food is also good for oral hygiene – assuming you are healthy – because it stimulates the flow of saliva.

Losing weight with spicy food

Spicy food increases blood flow to the mucous membranes, which affects the taste buds. Hot spices therefore also act as flavor enhancers. Spicy food also stimulates gastric juice production.

In addition, digestion, especially of fatty foods, is boosted – Italian scientists conducted a study in Bologna in which people suffering from dyspepsia (often popularly referred to as “indigestion”) experienced significant relief from their symptoms, such as  constipation were able to achieve a multi-week intake of paprika powder.

A research team at the University of Tasmania in Australia carried out another test: By comparing two test groups, it was possible to show that spicy food – in this case chili – regulates insulin levels. The more insulin levels rise, the higher the likelihood of weight gain.

Spicy food can also have an amplifying effect on the conversion of calories to heat – i.e. increase calorie expenditure. Those who are not used to hot spices eat more slowly and reach their saturation point with smaller amounts.

Eating Spicy: Unhealthy During Pregnancy?

Many expectant or breastfeeding mothers fear that spicy food will harm their children. In fact, doctors reassure you: You can eat spicy food even during breastfeeding and pregnancy, as long as mother and child feel comfortable and you don’t eat huge amounts of very hot spices.

Mothers from countries with spicy cuisine usually do not change their eating habits during pregnancy and their children are not harmed. It is important that you cannot eat very spicy food overnight, but that the degree of spiciness should be increased gradually – whether pregnant or not, child or adult.

When is spicy food unhealthy?

However, spicy food can become unhealthy if there are stomach problems: since the production of gastric juices is stimulated, symptoms such as heartburn can be aggravated. Chronic heartburn, in turn, can promote the development of  esophageal cancer  . Along with years of heavy smoking and alcohol consumption, long-term consumption of very spicy foods is sometimes added to the list of causes of esophageal cancer.

Stomach pain and gastritis can also   result when a sensitive stomach has to digest spicy foods. Some people also react with diarrhea. Furthermore, a possible connection between bladder irritation and bladder incontinence and excessive consumption of hot spices is discussed.

List of hot spices and their effects

Some popular hot spices may have health benefits:

• Paprika, chili and pepperoni: nutrition for arthrosis and rheumatism, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect
• Mustard: Regulates blood pressure
• Garlic: Prevents  arteriosclerosis  and donates selenium
• Ginger : Effective against  nausea , seasickness, (pregnancy) vomiting
• Pepper: Stimulates digestion and circulation, has an aphrodisiac effect, good for bronchitis and colds

Spicy recipe for fruity-spicy shrimp

This recipe is perfect for a warm summer evening. For four people you need:

• 250 g ready-to-cook shrimp
• 2 jars of sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 cans of diced tomatoes
• 10 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 60 g herb butter
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp  parsley
• 10 small red  Piri Piri  from the glass
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• salt and pepper

Garlic, tomato paste and herb butter are lightly sweated. Add piri piri and sundried tomatoes. The sauce is then poured over with the tomato passata and the remaining spices are mixed in well. Divide the sauce between small baking molds or clay pots and place the shrimp on top. Bake in the oven at 210 degrees (circulating air). Serve with  rice , tortillas or baguette.