Hot pepper has many health benefits

By Gabor Timis

Organic hot pepper, though its compound Capsaicin, boosts the generation of heat in the body, leading to more calories burned – good news if you are on weight loss diet.

Spicy food is more satiating than bland food which means that you eat less to feel full. The heat of the hot pepper stimulates brain chemicals that signal fullness!

Scientists from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at the University of California reported in the journal Cancer Research that capsaicin extract enhances apoptosis – cellular suicide – in prostate tumors.

The team injected prostate cancer cells into mice and treated one group with a dose of capsaicin that was the equivalent of giving 400 milligrams of capsaicin three times a week or about eight fresh habanero peppers, the hottest on the market.

After one to two months of treatment, the tumors in the treated mice were about 1/5th the size of the tumors in the non-treated rodents.

The consumption of chili pepper increases peripheral circulation and lowers blood pressure.
Hot pepper, high in vitamins A and C and bioflavinoids, help strengthen blood vessel walls. This makes the vessel walls more elastic and better able to adjust to differences in blood pressure.

Organic pepper is also excellent scavenger of free radicals.

The topical cream, Heet, has been used for many years to reduce muscle pain (caused by over-exertion in sports).
Applying a fresh, cut-up pepper to the source of the pain is also an effective treatment.

Hot pepper is ranked according to their pungency (heat) on a scale called the Scoville Scale.

Some examples of heat scores are:

- Red bell peppers 0 – 600
- Jalapeno peppers 2,500 – 10,000
- Serrano peppers 10,000 – 25,000
- Habanero peppers 80,000 – 150,000