Medical question concerning peppers...

[Crpdeth]

Rich told me recently that I was going to need a "stomach replacement by the time I reach an older age"... A comment/joke that has stuck with me.

Through the years I've noticed that my tastes for peppers dumbfound my friends and family. I remember starting out enjoying the "hot" Pace Picante sauce that I had amped up a little bit with crushed red pepper and cayenne, now, some 18 years later, I "need" habanero in just about everything, including my ketchup for fries and have recently started looking for hotter peppers such as the ghost pepper. I know that in some countries the children start out eating these habanero peppers at a young age, which would indicate that they are okay???

I have read that consuming peppers regularly boost your immune system and good things like that, but I am concerned about how they may effect the body in large doses, long term...

Any insight?


Crpdeth

[Pistolenschutze]

Actually, Donny, peppers, or at least the capsaicin in them, may act to destroy prostate cancer cells. Here's an article on the subject:

http://health.dailynewscentral.com/c...ew/0002161/35/

[Crpdeth]

Good reading and some good news! Thanks Rich.


Crpdeth

[artabr]

Crpdeth, your talk of amping up your hot salsa with more pepper brought a song to mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcrqnGWoWIA

I sure do miss the man in black.

Art

[SolidVFR]

Originally Posted by artabr

Crpdeth, your talk of amping up your hot salsa with more pepper brought a song to mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcrqnGWoWIA

I sure do miss the man in black.

Art

I love Johnny Cash. The Best.

[Crpdeth]

Art, I love Johnny Cash!

In fact this song is one that I have considered for a WMM video that I want to do with a mixture of footage from BBQ cookouts and good friends, but I think I am leaning more towards Fire Lake from Seger.

Crpdeth

[Terry_P]

The approach I would take is to eat the peppers if you like them and if the body starts telling you to slow down then I would. There is a lot that people don't know about the body and the hot pepper cravings may be for a reason.

[Popgunner]

The hot that's in different peppers is the same stuff. You get more of it in habaneros than jalapenos. Habaneros are right at the top of the list for hot. If there's anything hotter it just has a little more of the hot in it.

After eating hot stuff your senses are dulled down & you don't notice the hotness as much.

There is an area in Mexico where the people eat nothing but habaneros made into a paste & then spread on bread. It's common for them to die as young as 35 when their stomachs burn thru & they bleed out.

Sounds like fun

[AL MOUNT]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

Actually, Donny, peppers, or at least the capsaicin in them, may act to destroy prostate cancer cells.

Not to mention cauterizing hemmroids .....


This could be you ......

[pawn]

I am like you Crpdeth, I have built up my tolerance for all things hot through the years- however, I knew I liked it hot at an early age (thank you tabasco sauce)

Habenaros are hot... There's also a thin little chili I used to eat with some Lao friends that would "slap your pappy". I've heard the Scotch Bonnett along with the Ghost Pepper in India are proported to be the hottest.

As for excess, too much of anything can become a poison to the body... even water. I will continue to consume all things hot, as much as I like without worry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_chili

[SouthernMoss]

According to the section titled "Peppers and Health" in the following link, you're probably safe.
http://members.visi.net/~mandy/pepguide.html

From Margen, S. et. al (1992).The wellness encyclopedia of food and nutrition: How to buy, store, and prepare every variety of fresh food. Distributed by Random House. ISBN 0-929661-03-6.

"Are hot peppers bad for you? Proably not, according to recent studies. A common concern is that hot peppers or other spicy foods cause ulcers, but there's no evidence that they do. Studies of areas where hot peppers are used extensively in cooking, such as Brazil and Thailand, have found no higher incidence of stomach ulcers among their populations. And in a study conducted at a Veterans Administration hospital, researchers ground up about an ounce of jalapeno pepper and injected it directly into the stomachs of volunteers. Follow-up observation showed no damage to their stomach linings. Nor do hot peppers aggravate or cause hemorrhoids, as has often been claimed, since capsaicinoids...are broken down before they reach the lower intenstine.

"Actually, evidence has shown that peppers may have some beneficial properties. Capsaicin--the predominant capsaicinoid--has been found to work as an anticoagulant, thus possibly helping prevent heart attacks or strokes caused by blood clot. Small amounts of capsaicin can produce numbing of the skin and have a slight anti-inflammatory effect. In some countries, peppers are used in salves.

"Moreover, peppers are high in vitamin C, which, in turn, may be effective in protecting against cancer. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, a chemical substance capable of removing the threat from free radicals, which can cause cells to mutate.... (p.141)."

"By weight, green bell peppers have twice as much vitamin C as citrus fruit; red peppers have three times as much. Hot peppers contain even more vitamin C, 357 percent more than an orange. And red peppers are quite a good source of beta carotene... (p.136)."

[SouthernMoss]

I've always admired Johnny Cash. Have you heard his cover of Hurt (originally performed by Nine Inch Nails)? The video just blows me away every time I watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

[Crpdeth]

"Everyone I know goes away in the end"

OMG, I love this song... Yes...An old favorite Ginga.

Thank you for the info!!!


Crpdeth

[artabr]

Thanks for the link, SoMo.

Art

[Marlin T]

This had me thinking. I love hot stuff and have found a GREAT product called Acid Rain.

Not only is it *censored* hot, but the flavor is right up there with the best I have ever tried.

Check out these Ingredients: Habanero, Piquin, Ring Of Fire, Peri-Peri, Tepin and Jalapeño peppers, garlic, ginger, spices, salt, lemon, lime and orange juices and vinegar.

Yummy drool good stuff.



To order click >>> http://www.hataribros.com <<<

[artabr]

Cool site, Marlin
I'm going to have to check them out!!

Art

[jjmitchell60]

As stated above, capsaicin from peppers is a very good thing. Not only is it good for teh prostate but it is made into a cream and used for pain management. I use it on a regular bases for my back and legs. I have a crushed spine r0om a motercycle wreck sone 17 years ago. I started oiut using capsaicin cream in a .01% solution from the advice of my doctors at the VA. I am now up to a .025% solution cream. It has helped deaden the nerve endings to some degree in my back and my legs. NOTE, watch what part of legs used one, if it bends or flesh meets flesh, stay away from those areas. Like liquid heat if you knwo what I mean. Now back to the Peppers, they are doing research every day on capsaicin and are finding that is is good for many painful ailments. It does slow or even stop the contraction of some types of cancers, has actually helped in some ulcers, great as a muscle rub as I stated, and it boosts the metabolism in many people. OIt also does have the affect you mentioned, you do build up a tolerence to it and can eat even hotter food with a steady diet of it. I bet you ahve not hurt your body one bit by eating hot peppers. ONLY draw back is to people who are nbot used to eating hot foods and eat a very hot pepper to "see" how it tastes, they can actually do harm to their tasts buds of the tongue.

[Crpdeth]

Great site Marlin T

Check this one out when you get a chance, would ya? Hot Sauce link I am currently trying the Jack Daniels Black Label, which is just pretty dang good, but my next purchase will be the Black Mamba which consists of the chocolate habanero... I haven't tried the chocolate just yet, but they say the Scoville rating is very close to the Red Savanna.

This stuff can get quite expensive, I think the 2oz bottle of Black Mamba is going to be over 12.00 plus shipping, so I suggest any fire breathers among us mosey on down to the recipe forum and try the sauce that Rich sent me, as I have it posted there. I'm having fun playing with the ingredients.

Oh here's a pic of the JD sauce. Sorry it's so dark...I'm really going to have to break down and buy another camera soon.

Thank you all for the information!

[Mosin_Nagant_Fan]

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

Rich told me recently that I was going to need a "stomach replacement by the time I reach an older age"... A comment/joke that has stuck with me.

Through the years I've noticed that my tastes for peppers dumbfound my friends and family. I remember starting out enjoying the "hot" Pace Picante sauce that I had amped up a little bit with crushed red pepper and cayenne, now, some 18 years later, I "need" habanero in just about everything, including my ketchup for fries and have recently started looking for hotter peppers such as the ghost pepper. I know that in some countries the children start out eating these habanero peppers at a young age, which would indicate that they are okay???

I have read that consuming peppers regularly boost your immune system and good things like that, but I am concerned about how they may effect the body in large doses, long term...

Any insight?


Crpdeth

If you have ever watched the Mythbusters, particularly within the past two weeks, you may recall in one of their experiments that a pepper expert/seller said that someone ate so many hot peppers that the person died from suffocation. Like many things, to much can kill you.

[pawn]

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

Great site Marlin T

Check this one out when you get a chance, would ya? Hot Sauce link I am currently trying the Jack Daniels Black Label, which is just pretty dang good, but my next purchase will be the Black Mamba which consists of the chocolate habanero... I haven't tried the chocolate just yet, but they say the Scoville rating is very close to the Red Savanna.

This stuff can get quite expensive, I think the 2oz bottle of Black Mamba is going to be over 12.00 plus shipping, so I suggest any fire breathers among us mosey on down to the recipe forum and try the sauce that Rich sent me, as I have it posted there. I'm having fun playing with the ingredients.

Oh here's a pic of the JD sauce. Sorry it's so dark...I'm really going to have to break down and buy another camera soon.

Thank you all for the information!

I got a bottle of Black Mamba for Christmas, have worked my way through about 1/2 of it. A little of that stuff goes a long way.... it's wicked!!!

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by Mosin_Nagant_Fan

If you have ever watched the Mythbusters, particularly within the past two weeks, you may recall in one of their experiments that a pepper expert/seller said that someone ate so many hot peppers that the person died from suffocation. Like many things, to much can kill you.

I don't watch much TV lately, but you know, we have to consider the unknowns here as well... I was watching YouTube recently where one kid was trying to eat like 10 raw habaneros without stopping. It's the stupid stuff like this that "make the news".

I have heard of people actually, somehow ruining their eardrums during these contests. Not sure how that happens, but I don't think I wanna find out.

Originally Posted by pawn

I got a bottle of Black Mamba for Christmas, have worked my way through about 1/2 of it. A little of that stuff goes a long way.... it's wicked!!!

I bet!

Cant wait to try it.

Crpdeth

[user]

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

... I "need" habanero in just about everything...Crpdeth

The brain reacts to the pain-causing capsaicin by releasing endorphins, the natural chemical that heroin and other opiates mimic. That's also the explanation for why people get "addicted" to running and other hard exercise. It does become a "need" as you put it, and can be legitimately be considered an addiction, though it's to a chemical your brain is producing in reaction, not to the external stimulus itself.

Try going without it for three days and see what happens - warn family members first, though, you may be irrationally grouchy.

[Pistolenschutze]

Not to worry, Donny. I hear that good beer neutralizes any bad effects of peppers, so it's a win win situation.

[Mosin_Nagant_Fan]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

Not to worry, Donny. I hear that good beer neutralizes any bad effects of peppers, so it's a win win situation.

I think they tried that on Mythbusters and it did little to calm it, if not, irritated it even more. Whole milk, however, is the best way to calm a burning tongue, it seems. Oh, and wasabi will also cure the burn...if the burn is more intense then the wasabi.

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by user

The brain reacts to the pain-causing capsaicin by releasing endorphins, the natural chemical that heroin and other opiates mimic. That's also the explanation for why people get "addicted" to running and other hard exercise. It does become a "need" as you put it, and can be legitimately be considered an addiction, though it's to a chemical your brain is producing in reaction, not to the external stimulus itself.

Try going without it for three days and see what happens - warn family members first, though, you may be irrationally grouchy.

LOL, okay, although endorphins are released through the consumption of peppers, it does NOT cause one to become addicted to eating them, such as one will become addicted to a drug such as heroin. The "need" for hotter peppers is nothing more than what has already been expressed here, in the way that your taste buds are accustomed to the heat and you "need" a hotter pepper to feel the heat.

There is no "dependence"... No need to ween yourself off of peppers for three days, or warn your family if you do so.