Sharp (and healthy) guys love sharp. Chilli cures colds, headaches and helps with weight loss too. Learn to eat it (properly) too
Just burn it!
When you indulge in your favorite spicy food, your body will thank you for it many times over. Needless to say, a plate of spicy Indian vegetables packed with vitamins and capsaicin (the plant alkaloid responsible for spiciness) is the best thing you can have with a budding cold, you know that. It's not just plum brandy that burns off all the germs.
But hot foods are also great for your heart health. Not only does capsaicin, combined with vitamins, lower blood pressure, but it's also great for lowering so-called "bad" LDL cholesterol.
Want to lose weight? Then add a teaspoon of strong chilli to your food. Weaker natures may be deterred from eating more, but even those who are used to "smearing Ghost Peppers on their bread" know that spicy foods fight off hunger better than those prepared for babies.
Do you suffer from migraines? Peppers can help here, too. The body can only perceive one intense sensation at a time. If you eat some really spicy food, keep your nervous system busy with capsaicin, your body forgets about the headache.
In addition, peppers are anti-inflammatory, so they also help healthy digestion, reduce gas, relieve diarrhea and help with abdominal cramps. Of course, this kind of treatment for a stomachache is not for everyone. And recommending Ghost Peppers for a stomachache to someone who also takes the hot pepper out of pickled hermelon is really not a good idea.
You have to work on your resistance
Shock treatment doesn't quite apply in the case of chilli peppers. That is also why it is a good idea to build up a resistance to hotness. And it must be stressed that this does not only help the mucous membrane in the mouth. "Just about a teaspoon of crushed chilli a day for three weeks and your body will get used to it," advises gastroenterologist Sutep Gonlachanvit. Sharp guys can then still try the scale from milder chillies, such as habaneros, to ground jerky, such as Carolina Reaper peppers.
But there are more subtle ways to avoid whipping flames from the back of the body. Surprisingly, this does not include the popular washing down of peppers with milk. While this will help you from the cataclysmic feeling in your mouth, it will make your digestion even more upset. "If you don't want a burning rectum and gut, instead of fatty foods, try those with as much fibre as possible," advises another gastroenterologist, Brooks D. Cash. Fibre itself aids healthy digestion, so you definitely can't go wrong with it.
Some peppers, then, are literally good to handle with kid gloves. Anyone who has cut their finger while chopping peppers for a stew has probably experienced this. However, the strongest cultivars, such as the aforementioned Ghost Peppers or Carolina Reapers, are capable of burning through latex gloves. "My students and I used to harvest Ghost Peppers. Twenty minutes was all it took, and even with medical gloves on, our hands were on fire. These peppers are so strong they irritate the skin," Danise Coon, an expert on New Mexico's hottest chili peppers, told the Washington Post.
So if you want to cook with fresh chillies of the strongest caliber, you might want to wear those thick gloves you might wash dishes in. And don't forget to wash your hands thoroughly anyway. Going out for a meal after cooking like that would be a masochistic experience...
