Mo Hotta Mo Betta! - a podcast by Chef Wendell Fowler/Allan Haw

Live Right Now - Episode 010 – Mo Hotta Mo Betta

Friends, you ‘all just gotta’ wake up. Clearly, the rest of the world knows more about preventing chronic disease with nature’s ‘farmacy’ than we do. Capsaicin, the stuff that makes peppers hot is an example. Since chili peppers are not a part of our Midwest tradition, Hoosiers have wimpy taste buds for hot, mouth-searing, albeit health-stimulating peppers flavoring their food. Excluding a cocktail party when inebriated men exhibit their machismo by seeing who can eat the hottest pepper.

When capsaicin is consumed in a slightly diluted form, such as in hot sauce, chili peppers or cayenne peppers, it offers a myriad of health benefits. The hotter the chili pepper, the more capsaicin it contains. 

World cultures who use hot peppers liberally in their meals have significantly lower rates of heart attack and stroke than cultures that do not. Capsaicin may help to protect the heart by reducing cholesterol, triglycerides and platelet aggregation.

"Capsaicin inhibits the growth of human prostate cancer cells in petri dishes and mice," says lead researcher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. A study published in Cancer Research found capsaicin caused cancer cells to commit suicide. 

A topical form of capsaicin is used for osteoarthritis pain and alleviating pain from diabetic neuropathy. Capsaicin is a potential treatment for arthritis and psoriasis.  Studies have found that capsaicin relieves and prevents cluster headaches, migraine headaches and sinus headaches.

When I’m congested, among other natural treatments, I eat food spiced with hot peppers. Capsaicin stimulates secretions that help clear mucus from your nose, thus relieving nasal congestion. Capsaicin has potent antibacterial properties that fight and prevent chronic sinusitis too.

We must address the root cause. Why treat just the symptoms? Why hush our temple’s way of telling us something’s wrong? That’s illogically insane. We’ve been pharmaceutically disconnected from mother nature; told plant-based naturopathic medicine is hokum and trained, yes trained, by aggressive TV advertising to, despite the horrific side effects, obediently take a pill and the symptoms will disappear. Really? Perhaps, but the source still exists… you just don’t hear your temple’s screams for help.

Add more chili pepper spice to our life. Keep a container of powdered cayenne or hot pepper flakes on the table right next to the pepper mill, so you and your family can add a pinch of extra spice to any of your meals. Chili peppers burn your butt? Small price to pay. And BTW, they are not intended to be used as suppositories.

 

Some Hot Pepper facts:

• People who love fiery food have been dubbed pyro-gourmaniacs.


• Chile peppers are perhaps the first plants to be domesticated in Central America, where there is evidence that they were consumed in 7500 BC


• I’m on fire. What can I do?


• When handling peppers, especially if it is a pepper you have never used before, wear gloves.  Some oils can blister skin or result in an allergic reaction. My story.


• The best way to ease the burn of flaming hot peppers or overly-spicy mustard of horseradish is with cold milk or yogurt. 


• Avoid water as it won’t mix with the oil and will only result in moving the heat to other parts of your mouth

• Cayenne, jalapeños, tabasco, birdseye chili, habañeros, and Scotch bonnets all contain capsaicin.


• Health: Weight Loss: capsaicin helps burn fat by consuming energy, also known as fat. The occasional boost of the hot stuff can significantly increase your fat burning.


• Capsaicin and vitamins A & C Hot peppers aid in the dissolution of fibrin, a necessary component for blood clots. These vitamins also strengthen blood vessels, which helps them adjust to fluctuations in blood pressure.


• Hot peppers provide plenty of vitamins your body needs including; vitamins A, C, K, B6 and folate. Vitamin C does pack one hell of a punch, with a whopping 10% in just one pepper


• Capsaicin may have benefit as an anti-inflammatory; headache and migraine relief. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, hot peppers may also be able to reduce swelling associated with arthritis and asthma,


• Have you ever eaten spicy food and found that suddenly your stuffy nose was clear?


• Stuffed up? Capsaicin will also clear out congested nasal passages like nothing else and is helpful in treating sinus-related allergy symptoms


• Studies have shown capsaicin reduces sinus symptoms, such as nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, sneezing, coughing, and mucous production.


• Capsaicin sprays desensitize the mucous membranes in the nose, making them less irritated by airborne particles and quickly relieving symptoms of allergies and sinus congestion. By stimulating secretions to help clear mucus, these sprays prevent allergy triggers while keeping your nasal passages moist, clean, and free of bacteria.


• "Capsaicin possesses powerful antibacterial properties and is very effective in fighting and preventing chronic sinus infections.


• Small daily doses of capsaicin have even been shown to prevent chronic nasal congestion."


• Hospitals, universities and clinics around the world are using capsaicin for chronic headache patients with outstanding results. The all-natural ingredients relax the muscles and blood vessels around the eyes and forehead, providing fast relief.

• People have been using hot and spicy seasonings in their food for more than 6,000 years according to archaeologists.


• Christopher Columbus discovered chili peppers when he discovered the Americas in 1493.

 

Live Right Now theme music is “future soundtrack II” by Adam Henry Garcia from the Free Music Archive licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

 

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