All Entries in the "Health Benefits" Category

Brigham & Women’s Releases Study

On Monday, May 8th, 2012, Brigham & Women’s hospital of Boston, Massachusetts announced a study on the power of capsaicin. Found in hot peppers, capsaicin is believed to help with weight loss. Doctors would like to use the power of this natural element to treat obesity and use as therapy for diabetic patients. At Ashley Food Company, we have provided alerts to our customers about the benefits of hot peppers and capsaicin.

Spicy Compound May Boost Heart Health

Some people can’t get enough of the painful pleasure of spicy foods. Now, new research on hamsters suggests that those who like it hot may get some added heart-health benefits from capsaicinoids, the compounds that give chili peppers from jalepenos to habaneros their kick.

Scientists from the Chinese University of Hong Kong studied how capsaicinoids — capsaicin and its chemical relatives — affected the blood vessels of hamsters. Researchers fed hamsters diets high in cholesterol, and spiced up the food for some groups of the animals with varying levels of capsaicinoids.

Chili Peppers Bring More Than Just Heat

It is no accident that “hot” peppers are the backbone of Central- and South American indigenous cuisines. They “love” heat.

The capsicum genus, a branch of the solanaceas family, contains 31 known species, only five of which are domesticated.

Over centuries, these five species travelled from their ancestral places of origin to near and far, and everywhere they were manipulated by framers and shaped by “terroir” to produce a kaleidoscopic array of sub-varieties/

The major pepper originated from capsicum cumonnuum which itself evolved from devilishly hot anonymous peppers long forgotten.

Then there are capsicums chinense, capsicum baccatum, capsicum pubescens and others.

All capsicums are fruits with lustrous skins and ribbed and seed-filled interior.

How Spicy Foods Can Speed up Your Metabolism

It has long been thought that spicy foods help to speed up your metabolism, but the information on how and how long has been varied and remained somewhat unclear. It is thought the main element that gives chilis their heat – capsaicin – is responsible for creating this effect, as it creates heat generation and raises body temperature upon consumption.

What Is Metabolism?

Metabolism is the amount of energy or calories needed by your body to maintain itself throughout the day. Everyone’s metabolism is affected by their body composition so that people with more muscles will have a higher metabolism, while those that are less muscular have a lower metabolism.

A person with a higher metabolism (due to working out and greater muscle mass) will be able to eat more calories daily than another person with the same weight and height that does not workout or have the same amount of muscle mass. Though there are several ways that are said to increase metabolism, the most well-documented way to increase your metabolism is to workout with strength training exercises. Because of the fact that muscle is a more efficient calorie burner than fat, the more you have, the better off you will be.

Chile Peppers and Cholesterol

Naturopaths and herbalists have long known around the many, many different health properties of chile peppers along with other hot peppers. Their list of things these little herbal powerhouses can perform might surprise you! They’re not only perfect for the digestive tract, he or she can help arthritis, reduce inflammation, as they are helpful for powerful heart beat and circulatory system. What’s more, they can help reduce cholesterol.

The Happiness Diet

Women’s Health Magazine

Staying away from processed foods can have a positive effect on more than just your physical well-being.

Chile Peppers, These fruits are made spicy by the fat-soluble molecule called capsaicin. This molecule is absorbed by fat. If you add chili powder to oil and vinegar, the fat in the oil absorbs all of the capsaicin. It’s why a mouthful of guacamole or milk will cool down a burning mouth, while water or beer is unable to put out the fire.

Chronic Pain Relief

A lot more than 60 million Americans complain of chronic headaches of most varieties, (migraine, cluster, and sinus). While these kinds of headaches may vary using classic symptoms, every one headaches share some common links that may lead to relief for many headache sufferers.

The key is in the manner our bodies transmit headache pain, and the symptoms often shared by all kinds of headaches. For instance, a current study of 30 chronic sinus headache patients showed that 97% did not have sinus severe, but rather had the classic symptoms of migraines. Which means most sinus headache sufferers could possibly be un-diagnosed migraine victims.

Peppers Fight Cancer

The power of the pepper is not only to make foods spicy . According to an article published in the journal Cancer Research, a substance contained in its formula, capsaicin, can be a weapon against cancer. Chili peppers are the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The discovery is still new, but studies claim that capsaicin might be the basis for a remedy in the fight against cancer. The study was made with genetically engineered mice and human cells that had prostate cancer.

Chile Offers Surprising Health Benefits

LAS CRUCES — What miracle food can both whet and curb your appetite, deliver mega vitamins, cheer you up, ease aches and pains, clear your sinuses, rev up your metabolism and lots more?

If you know the official New Mexico state vegetable and the answer to our official state question (“red or green?”) you can also identify our milagro cure-all: the chile pepper!

Chiles can deliver a wide range of health benefits, according to New Mexico State University Regents Professor of Horticulture Paul Bosland, director of NMSU’s Chile Pepper Institute, and his colleague, Danise Coon.

Canthera: Pepper Plant Part

Oncogene targeting is a frequent strategy in cancer research. In the July 13, 2011 , issue of Nature, scientists reported preclinical successes using a different strategy: by targeting what they termed a non-oncogene co-dependency. “Normal cells become tumor cells through a variety of genetic alterations,” said co-author Anna Mandinova, explaining the co-dependency concept. Most often, those genetic alterations are mutations, though other changes such as insertions and deletions also occur. By the time it starts dividing uncontrollably, a tumor cell has picked up an average of eight to 12 such mutations. Targeted therapies on the market today usually target such oncogenes directly. But the mutated genes are not the only ones whose expression levels change in cancerous cells. A tumor cell undergoes metabolic changes, and is in a hostile environment of low oxygen and nutrients. And “in order to survive these changes,” Mandinova explained, “the cell . . . starts to overexpress or underexpress housekeeping genes.”

Foods to Get You Fit and Beautiful

Eating even one meal that contains capsaicin—the compound that gives hot sauce and chile peppers their heat—not only reduces levels of hunger-causing ghrelin, but also raises GLP-1, an appetite-suppressing hormone, indicates research in the European Journal of Nutrition.

Scientists also found that people who drank capsaicin-spiced tomato juice before each meal over the course of two days ingested 16% fewer calories than those who drank it plain.

Climate Change and Chasing Chile Peppers

On a pepper-harvesting excursion across North America, a chef and an ethnobotanist find that climate change is altering peppers and affecting the people who pick them. Host Bruce Gellerman talks with the duo, Chef Kurt Michael Friese and Professor Gary Paul Nabhan, about their book Chasing Chiles, and samples a few spicy fruits in the process.

Hot Pepper vs. Cancer

In recent years, the field of cancer research has shifted toward natural solutions for treatment and prevention because they have fewer dangerous side effects to the human body. With this is mind, the hypothesis of this experiment was that the level of “hotness,” or capsaicin level, of a hot pepper, would correlate to cancer cell killing activity.

Exploring the Benefits of Chili Pepper

Chili peppers bring a lot more to the table than just spiciness. Capsaicin present in chilies, has many health benefits. Unlike its name, Chili pepper is not a native of Chile but has its origin in Central and South America. Botanically termed Capsicum, they belong to the family Solanaceae which has potato and tomato as its members. They are widely used by the entire world be it in the spicy Mexican cuisine or a smoldering Indian curry or a red hot Thai dish. It is the form of usage which varies a great deal.

Hot Peppers Reduce Breast Cancer

A new study has reported that hot peppers reduce breast cancer cell growth and increase cell death without affecting normal breast cells. The study was designed to investigate the relationship between the capsaicin content of peppers and the impact of pepper extracts on human breast and leukemia cancer cells. Reports are inconsistent concerning the anticancer activity of hot peppers and their primary biologically active component, capsaicin. The authors tested extracts from several different peppers in human breast and leukemia cancer cell lines in the laboratory.

Hot Peppers Moderate Breast Cancer

Studies concerning hot peppers, capsaicin and cancer have produced mixed results. On the one hand, capsaicin has been shown to induce apoptosis in several different types of cancer cells and mechanisms have been proposed to explain its apparent anti-cancer activity. On the other hand, capsaicin also appears to act as a carcinogen in some parts of the body.

Cayenne Isn’t Just About Heat

The pursuit of off-the-chart Scoville units is not my game. In fact, remember Mark Twain’s famous observation about how using the right word makes a difference as dramatic as light from a firefly versus lightning? It also can be applied to cooking.

Spicy Foods will Improve your Health

If you like your food hot and spicy, you may live longer. Today, research shows that people who include hot spices and fiery sauces in their diets lead healthier, longer lives than those who have a more mild palate.

Peppers and Your Health

Peppers — hot or not — may do more than round out your omelet, spice up your salsa, and make for a colorful stir-fry. They help you get some of your daily vitamins and contain compounds that may be linked to weight loss, pain reduction, and other benefits.

A Perk of Our Evolution: Pleasure in Pain of Chilies

Some experts argue that we like chilies because they are good for us. They can help lower blood pressure, may have some antimicrobial effects, and they increase salivation, which is good if you eat a boring diet based on one bland staple crop like corn or rice. The pain of chilies can even kill other pain, a concept supported by recent research.

Chili Spices Burn Calories

The active ingredient in chili peppers called capsaicin can slightly increase the metabolic rate of the body and burn more calories from a meal. The study also showed that chili peppers can help stabilize the blood sugar and lower the levels of insulin in the body by studying 2 groups of people and giving them meals without chili and the other group with chili. Results showed that chili peppers have a significant effect on the group who ate meals with chili peppers compared to the other group. Aside from these findings, chili peppers have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Scoville scale a 10 with pepper lovers

These days, the human taste buds that formed the Scoville scale have fallen out of favor for measuring chili peppers’ heat. High-performance liquid chromatography is used instead. It can measure the varying amounts of capsaicinoids in each pepper and also can accurately gauge a pepper’s total heat.

Fighting Fat With Chili Pepper Ingredient:

New Evidence Capsaicin, the stuff that gives chili peppers their kick, may cause weight loss and fight fat buildup by triggering certain beneficial protein changes in the body, according to a new study on the topic. The report, which could lead to new treatments for obesity, appears in ACS’ monthly Journal of Proteome Research.

Reduce Blood Pressure

For those with high blood pressure, chili peppers might be just what the doctor ordered, according to a study reported in the August issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. While the active ingredient that gives the peppers their heat—a compound known as capsaicin—might set your mouth on fire, it also leads blood vessels to relax, the research in hypertensive rats shows.

Chili Peppers Fight Fat

Capsaicin, the stuff that gives chili peppers their kick, may cause weight loss and fight fat buildup by triggering certain beneficial protein changes in the body, according to a new study on the topic. The report, which could lead to new treatments for obesity, appears in ACS’ monthly Journal of Proteome Research.

Spices Prevent Platelet Aggregation

Spices do a whole lot more than liven up food. New research has found that the active ingredients in several common spices prevent platelet aggregation and blood clot formation up to 29 times better than aspirin, and without the side effects.

Chili Pepper Diet = True

Fad diets come and go (remember the cabbage soup diet?) but here’s one that may have some merit.
Researchers in Korea recently found that rats fed capsaicin – the compound that makes chile peppers hot – gained 8% less weight than rats fed the same diet minus the capsaicin.

Weight Loss Advantages Of Capsicum

Here are the weight loss advantages of capsicum for those who are still in doubt with this chili pill.

Try It Out Tuesday

Bell peppers are a great source of vitamins A, C, and K, and Potassium. Red peppers also contain lycopene, which is a chemical that can help reduce the risk of multiple types of cancers, including prostate and cervical cancers. Orange peppers are the most dense food source of a compound called zeaxanthin, which is known to protect against eye problems such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

Hot Sauce and the body

Research has also shown that capsaicin actually will target the key pain-sensing cells in a very unique way. With some detail research scientists are actually researching this ingredient as a potential numbing agent for nerves during surgery and post op up to a couple of weeks after the surgery. It is the hope to eventually minimize the use of traditional drug pain killers with a natural alternative.

Can Cactus & Peppers Cure The Common Itch?

Studies show Capsaicin, (the natural heat conductor in hot peppers) is highly effective against many chronic skin conditions that cause chronic itching, redness and dry patches. Until recently, no company has found a way to put an effective amount of capsaicin in a cream without making the cream too hot. While the Hotter” creams are effective against arthritis joint pain, they are too hot to be used for common skin disorders related to dermatitis, dry skin, and itching.

Mild Peppers May Help Burn Calories

Research presented at the Experimental Biology meeting in Anaheim, California, (namesake of one of our favorite peppers) shows that dihydrocapsiate (DCT) –a chemical found in a strain of mild chile peppers — has helped some people boost their metabolism without the tongue-burning side effects.

Peppers Health Properties

All this time, we have thought that pepper is just a typical ingredient that adds up spice for every culinary dish that we love. Peppers are available throughout the year to add zest to flavorful dishes around the world and health to those brave enough to experience their fiery heat. This is the one ingredient that puts fire in your mouth and even tears in your eyes. A recent study though has proven the uncharted properties of pepper as a health supplement.

Chili Peppers are New Non-Addictive Painkiller

Pain has been called a “complex epidemic” in the United States. Nearly 50 million Americans live with chronic pain caused by disease or injury. Few physicians or dentists specialize in the field of pain medicine. With pain medication options largely limited to opioids (such as morphine) and aspirin-like drugs, some patients become addicted or dependent upon these drugs, or suffer side effects such as kidney or liver damage. We have discovered a family of endogenous capsaicin-like molecules that are naturally released during injury, and now we understand how to block these mechanisms with a new class of non-addictive therapies.

Bhut Jolokia The “Ghost Chili” Health Benefits

The main ingredient of red pepper (pepper plant groups), the body endorphin into the brains and stimulate the salivary glands. Endorphins are natural painkillers and gives a good feeling for nature. Pepper also reduce arthritis and diabetes, nerve damage is the basic ingredient.

Health Benefits of Eating Spicy Food

Spicy Food is enjoyed all over the world because spices add an incredible amount of flavor to food. Cultures all over the world have dishes that excite and stimulate your palate with spices and add heat and flavor to everyday ingredients. But if you like spicy food like chilies, curry and hot sauces, there is so much more to look forward to.

Peppers Health Properties

Most Capsicums contain capsaicin, a lipophilic chemical that can produce a strong burning sensation in the mouth. Secretion of capsaicin protects the fruit from being consumed by mammals. Peppers play a big role in Native American medication, and now, modern medicine is now using its health capabilities brought by capsaicin which is mainly used now in topical medications. Peppers are a very good source of vitamin A, vitamin C and dietary fiber. They are also a good source of iron and potassium. In addition to this, it includes a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

The Ultimate Feel-Good Drink

Chilli pepper (also called chili, chile, hot pepper, jalapeños, Cayenne pepper, etc.) is renowned for its powerful antioxidant and pain-relieving properties. In addition, it works well in the prevention of colds, flu and other germ-related ailments. Research also shows that it may work against cancer, among other diseases. All this because of capsaicin, the active component that puts the “hot” in hot pepper.

Chili Nutritional Properties

Chili pepper is loaded with a broad range of nutritional properties, which makes it immensely healthy for the human body. A diet rich in chili pepper can effectively control many body ailments. Chili peppers have been around for ages. For instance, it is amazing to know that in US, chili pepper has been a part of diet ever since 7500 BC. However, but it is only now that their health benefits are being increasingly recognized by the modern diet experts. The positive impact of chili peppers on your health has been listed below in detail. Read the article to know the many benefits of consuming chili pepper.

Hot Peppers Really Do Bring The Heat

Chili peppers can do more than just make you feel hot, reports a study in the August 1 Journal of Biological Chemistry; the active chemical in peppers can directly induce thermogenesis, the process by which cells convert energy into heat. Capsaicin is the chemical in chili peppers that contributes to their spiciness; CPS stimulates a receptor found in sensory neurons, creating the heat sensation and subsequent reactions like redness and sweating.

Capsicum Health Benefits

Capsaicin has been associated with many cures that include lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol and warding off strokes and heart attacks, speeding up metabolism, treating colds and fevers, preventing cancer and pain control. Capsaicin is a flavorless, odorless chemical concentrated in the veins of chiles and peppers. The seeds grow next to the veins and absorb the chemical. Contrary to popular belief, the seeds are not the hottest part of a chile. Rather, the greatest heat is found in the capsaicin oil, which is found in the membranes and near the stems of chiles plants. Removing the seeds and especially the veins can reduce the heat by up to fifty percent. Otherwise, capsaicin is virtually indestructible and can withstand freezing, cooking and time.

Chile Protects Against Aspirin & Ulcers

It has been found that chile protects against the side effects of aspirin and chile eaters develop fewer peptic ulcers than those who eat plain foods. Also, rates of stomach cancer are unusually low in countries where chile peppers are part of a regular diet, as capsaicin appears to neutralize some carcinogens. Research has proven that adding chile peppers to your foods can help your body burn calories faster (up to 45 calories more per meal than if you eat bland dishes) and speed up your metabolism. Chile peppers are an incredible replacement for the fat and salt in your diet as the flavors of the foods are enhanced sufficiently with the ingredients themselves.

Chili peppers can ease nerve pain

Millions suffer peripheral pain and other troubling sensations from diseases as varied as diabetes, AIDS, shingles and arthritis. Now a new review suggests that four out of 10 people could experience some pain relief from cream of topical capsaicin, an active component of chili peppers.

Ulcer Relief via Spicy Foods

When taken internally, capsaicin stimulates circulation sequentially, from the internal organs to skin surface and subsequently throughout the entire body. When applied externally and once it penetrates the skin, capsaicin increases circulation to the site where it has been applied.

More Health Benifits of Chilies

Chili pepper, dried Like cayenne pepper, red chili peppers are available throughout the year to add zest to flavorful dishes around the world and health to those brave enough to risk their fiery heat.

Hot Chili Peppers – Friend of Foe?

Do you love hot chilies, or does your stomach spasm just looking at this picture? If, like me, you have a love-hate relationship with hot peppers, check out my new article: Hot Chili Peppers – Friend or Foe? Learn about the health benefits and nutrition in chili peppers, and find out why some hot peppers are actually good for your stomach while others may irritate or worsen an inflamed stomach lining. Lastly, learn how to make my homemade Thai Chili Sauce (Nam Prik Pao) in such a way that it can help heal your stomach.