Salsa Fest
Today at work it was decided that everyone would bring in chips or salsa or other such snacks and we would have what we now term “Salsa Fest”. One of my coworkers provided habanero peppers to anyone brave enough to try them. Wanting to prove my manhood I decided to give them a shot. Needless to say, it was a painful experience. After watering eyes a runny nose and some intense pain, I found the following facts comforting:
Hot Peppers
The heat, or burning sensation, experienced when consuming hot sauce is caused by capsaicin. The burning sensation is not “real” in the sense of damage being wrought on tissues. In fact, it is merely a harmless chemical reaction with the body’s neurological system.
The seemingly subjective perceived heat of hot sauces can be measured by the Scoville scale. The Scoville scale number indicates how many times something must be diluted with an equal volume water until people can no longer feel any sensation from the capsaicin. The hottest hot sauce scientifically possible is one rated at 16,000,000 Scoville units, which is pure capsaicin. Examples of hot sauces marketed as achieving this level of heat are Blair’s 16 Million Reserve (due to production variances, it’s up to 16 million Scoville units) marketed by Blair’s Sauces & Snacks. By comparison, Tabasco sauce is rated between 2,500 and 5,000 Scoville units (batches vary) - with one of the mildest commercially available chili condiments, Cackalacky Classic Condiment Company’s Spice Sauce, weighing in at less than 1000 Scoville units on the standard heat scale.]
How to combat the nose-running eye-watering shallow-panting tongue-wrenching pleasure from eating salsa:
Since capsaicin in its pure state is not very soluble in water but dissolves in oils, some suggest eating fatty foods or beverages (i.e.: whole milk, sour cream, tofu, or yogurt). Since capsaicin acts like an oil all water will do is spread the feeling around to more areas in the mouth and throat, and since the CO2 in soda is added to increase the flavor in the soda it will also enhance the effects of capsaicin. If you chance to consume more capsaicin than you desire, take out your cup of yogurt or glass of milk and swish it around in your mouth until it absorbs the capsaicin and allows you to return to the world of the living.
Capsaicin’s Health Benefits
Headache help: Substance P is the key transmitter of pain to the brain. In fact, Substance P is the body’s main mechanism for producing swelling and pain throughout the trigeminal nerve, which runs through the head, temple, and sinus cavity. When the nerve fibers come in contact with Substance P, they react by swelling—an effect that yields headaches and sinus symptoms. Clinical studies have shown that capsaicin, a compound in hot peppers, is extremely effective for relieving and preventing cluster headaches, migraine headaches, and sinus headaches.
Arthritis relief: People suffering from arthritis pain typically have elevated levels of Substance P in their blood and in the synovial fluid that bathes their joints. Research has shown that eating foods that contain capsaicin or applying a topical cream that contains capsaicin can suppress Substance P production.
Capsaiscin as spicy sinus soother: Capsaicin also possesses powerful antibacterial properties, and is very effective in fighting and preventing chronic sinus infections (sinusitis). This purely natural chemical will also clear out congested nasal passages like nothing else, and is helpful in treating sinus-related allergy symptoms. Small daily doses of capsaicin have even been shown to prevent chronic nasal congestion.
Capsaicin as anti-inflammatory: In recent years, researchers discovered that capsaicin is a potent anti-inflammatory, and have even pinpointed how it works to fight chronic, sub-clinical inflammation. The nuclei of human cells contain chemicals called nuclear transcription factors (NTFs), two of which—activator protein 1 (AP-1) and NF-kappa B—are especially important targets when it comes to prevention of cancer and premature aging of skin. Each of these NTFs can be “activated” by ultraviolet light and free radicals: a result that produces a pro-inflammatory chain reaction that promotes premature aging and a wide variety of degenerative diseases. As it turns out, nature offers several effective NTF-activation blockers, including the capsaicin in chilies, and the yellow pigment curcumin in turmeric.
Gastric relief: A recent study on gastric disorders at Duke University showed capsaicin may actually lead to a cure for certain intestinal diseases. The Duke team found that a specific nerve cell receptor appears to be necessary to initiate the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a general term given to a variety of chronic disorders in which the intestine becomes inflamed—resulting in recurring abdominal cramps, pain and diarrhea. The cause of IBD is unknown, and it is believed that up to 2 million Americans suffer from this disorder.
Capsaicin versus cancer: Several recent studies have shown that capsaicin may actually prevent the growth of certain types of cancer. In particular, there have been several clinical studies conducted in Japan and China that showed natural capsaicin directly inhibits the growth of leukemic cells. Although these studies used pure capsaicin directly injected into isolated diseased cells in a laboratory setting, scientists have also concluded that daily consumption of hot peppers (thus capsaicin) may actually prevent certain types of cancer. Throughout South America, intestinal, stomach, and colon cancer rates are very low compared to the United States. It is widely regarded by medical experts that this low cancer rate may be tied to the large amounts of capsaicin in their diets, since nearly every main dish in their normal diet contains some form of capsaicin-based food, particularly hot cayenne and jalapeño peppers. Of course we must also take into consideration the fact these cultures also consume fiber-rich beans on a daily basis.
Capsaicin as fat burner: Capsaicin is an active ingredient in many of the most popular “fat burning” supplements on the market. A thermogenic agent, capsaicin helps to increase overall metabolic activity, thus helping the body burn calories and fat. Since the FDA banned the herb ephedra, supplement manufacturers have been searching for new thermogenic ingredients and many have added chilies to the mix. While capsaicin replaces some of ephedra’s metabolic effects, it doesn’t have that herb’s negative, stimulant effects on heart rate. In fact, capsaicin is an actively “heart healthy” supplement.
Capsaicin is lucky: Capsaicin is an active ingredient in many key foods of lottery winners. “I ate 200,000 scoville units of capsaicin just before I won a million dollars”, John Heatbelly of Jacksonville Florida said. “If it wasn’t for the heat, I know I would have never won.”
