Spicy: Science shows us that chili, wasabi, and other spicy foods can be the healthiest. Although you should take precautions if you have a delicate stomach, adding them from time to time can touch your dishes’ flavor and health.
Some love spicy and add it to everything. And some enjoy a touch of flavor in some recipes. If used well, spicy has multiple health benefits. Mustard, pepper, turmeric. We reveal which ones are the best and how to use them to enjoy and take care of yourself.
1. Health Benefits of Spicy
The world of spices is endless, and in particular, in addition to flavor, some add it to the diet for its accelerating effect on metabolism.
a. Slimming Effect
Surely you’ve already heard that spicy helps you lose weight, but how does it do it? Increase in energy expenditure. When you take pepper or mustard, your metabolism speeds up, increasing your body temperature and burning more. This increase in energy expenditure (between 3% and 4%) is maintained several hours later.
You eliminate more fat. A study carried out by a specialist from the University of Maastricht (Netherlands) reveals that capsaicin, a spicy substance present in many foods, favors the destruction of fat cells.
You feel more satisfied.
Spicy food has been shown to have this “hunger-suppressing” effect. Therefore, if you add these types of substances to your dishes, you will feel full more quickly, and you will snack less between meals. Consumed in moderation, the spicy is a balm for the body.
b. Improves Mood
Studies have shown that these substances promote the release of endorphins and serotonin, leading us to a more positive mental state.
c. Activate Circulation
Capsaicin fights inflammation in the arteries and improves circulation. Also, spices often substitute for salt in dishes, thus reducing their blood pressure effects, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
d. Antimicrobial and Analgesic
The hot pepper acts as a real microbe “repellent”: before refrigeration systems existed, chili was added to food to facilitate conservation. Also, it has been shown to block pain receptors.
e. Antioxidant Action
The spices composed of spicy substances fight the effect of free radicals, thereby preventing aging and cell deterioration.
f. Controlled Insulin
A study from the University of California reveals that it reduces the risk of diabetes because it helps to keep insulin levels in the blood stable.
2. Eat Spicy in Moderation
You can add some spice from time to time to brighten up the dishes. On the contrary, its abuse can damage the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract causing ulcers, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, etc.
How to take it? You can consume it naturally, sprinkled on meals, squeezed as in Tabasco, or in the form of an infusion mixing the spicy with other herbs.
Drinking water when you have eaten spicy does not work.
If you have exceeded with the spicy and have an annoying sensation of itching that does not go away, you will get little by drinking water since the pungent substances do not dissolve. But they do do it in fat, so taking a glass of milk will relieve the itching.
3. When to Avoid Spicily
From the start, it is not wise to overdo it because it can irritate the gastric mucosa, but there are cases in which you must take even more precautions.
- If you have problems in the liver or urinary tract, it is better to avoid its consumption.
- During pregnancy and lactation, it can root digestive complications. In smokers, it can also cause this type of discomfort.
- If you suffer from heartburn, hemorrhoids, and other digestive-related problems, it’s best to avoid it.
- Fat and spicy food is related to the appearance of acne.
- Some studies have linked long-term substance abuse to stomach cancer.
