Medical benefit of Chili

As the weather gets colder more and more of us will come down with a cold or flu.

But did you know that food such as chillies could protect us from common winter conditions? So spice up your life and beat the cold with hot ingredients like chillies.

At this time of year as the weather gets colder and colds and flu start to circulate, the health benefits of chillies are even more important.

Many newspaper and magazines describe the results of recent research that will add chilli to the list of Super foods. This research, addressing the ability of chilli to treat certain types of cancer, adds to the existing knowledge of the health benefits of chillies. Previous research has established benefits from chillies in terms of treating ailments such as asthma and arthritis and reducing cholesterol and boosting the immune system.

Two hundred scientific tests on chillies are currently underway, looking at the effects of eating it and looking at the active ingredient of capsaicin separately as a treatment, often in the form of a cream.

Dave De Witt, founding director of the Chilli Pepper Institute at New Mexico University as saying “Chillies are a remarkable food that has significant medical uses. The main one is as a painkiller when used as a cream, and they have been proved to help with illnesses such as arthritis, shingles and skin complaints. Eating chillies is also a preventative measure for stopping stomach ulcers developing. They are crammed with vitamin C when green and vitamin A when red”.

Dr Ann Walker, described as an expert in human nutrition from Reading University is also quoted as confirming the use of chillies in a cream for back pain and the evidence available of their efficacy in treating certain skin conditions.

Other research, and personal experience, confirms that chillies are very good at reducing the symptoms of colds and flu and generally helping boost the body’s natural defences and that they have anti-bacterial qualities.

Chillies are also thought to trigger the release of 'feel good' endorphins that lift the spirits and the libido, so may do wonders for the love life. Hot chillies, like piri-piri, peri-peri, peli-peli or pili-pili aka Birds Eye Chilli, are rumoured to help the body burn off fat quicker by speeding up the metabolic rate.

Chillies have long been used as part of traditional remedies, probably first by the Aztecs, to help alleviate colds mixed with honey and ginger and may relieve nasal congestion by thinning down mucus in the sinuses. In Russia, a drink called Nastoyka (made from chillies soaked in vodka) is used to relieve colds, rheumatism and stomach disorders, while in India, peri peri is used externally for the treatment of tonsillitis, diphtheria and snakebites.

As the Daily Express editorial concludes, it is very nice when something so tasty is also being proved to be so very good for you!