More than half of Americans find hot or spicy foods
appealing. The age group most likely to
order spicy foods in a restaurant are in the 10 to 34 year age group. When people are told they must modify their
diet, the most likely response is “Don’t make me give up my chilies. I cannot live without them.” Eating hot peppers activates areas of the
brain related to both pleasure and pain.
In fact, relief and pleasure are intertwined, overlapping in the same
area of the brain. Sensations of pleasure
and aversion both rely on nerves in the brain stem. Researchers feel that the love of heat from
spicy foods, particularly those containing chilies or hot peppers, are these
two systems of pleasure and pain working together.
Chili peppers are one of the main sources of capsaicin,
which gives them their “heat.” Capsaicin
also has many health benefits. It may
lower the risk of intestinal tumors, has possibilities of lowering other forms
of cancer, may help fight obesity by boosting metabolic and fat burning rate,
and if applied topically, reduces pain.
Eating spicy foods may agree with you and you may enjoy them. However, limiting them toward bedtime may
help avoid indigestion that makes it difficult to get a good night’s
sleep. They are still linked with time
spent awake during the night and taking longer to go to sleep.
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