Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Chiles - A Healthy Hot!
For many of us, the heat of the pepper is what makes it such a palate pleaser. But peppers also have a lot going for them nutritionally — they are good sources of vitamin C, beta carotene, folic acid, magnesium and potassium.
Peppers and capsaicin also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which might reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and other chronic diseases that occur with age. Chile-laden meals have been shown to boost energy expenditure in several human trials. I n one study, for instance, 10 grams of dried hot pepper added to breakfast increased energy expenditure by 23% immediately after the meal and for more than two hours afterward. And a study published last year in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that regular chile consumption interferes with a step in the development and progression of atherosclerosis: the oxidation of lipoproteins in the blood.
When you're eating a pepper and the burn gets to be too much, it's natural to want to douse the flame with water or soak it up with a bland bite of bread. But these things won't work well. Capsaicin is bound tight to nerve receptor sites in the taste buds and is not water soluble. It does mix with fats, oil and alcohol — which may explain why beer makes a better chile chaser than water. The best fire quencher, though, is milk.
LA Times
Peppers and capsaicin also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which might reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and other chronic diseases that occur with age. Chile-laden meals have been shown to boost energy expenditure in several human trials. I n one study, for instance, 10 grams of dried hot pepper added to breakfast increased energy expenditure by 23% immediately after the meal and for more than two hours afterward. And a study published last year in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that regular chile consumption interferes with a step in the development and progression of atherosclerosis: the oxidation of lipoproteins in the blood.
When you're eating a pepper and the burn gets to be too much, it's natural to want to douse the flame with water or soak it up with a bland bite of bread. But these things won't work well. Capsaicin is bound tight to nerve receptor sites in the taste buds and is not water soluble. It does mix with fats, oil and alcohol — which may explain why beer makes a better chile chaser than water. The best fire quencher, though, is milk.
LA Times
Labels: capsaicin, chiles, health food, nutrition
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