Healthy Foods
Why Spicy Food is Good for You
By Leanne Ely, CNC
Some like it hot! And some like it spicy. Some like both at the same time! Whatever your preference, spicy food and in particular, hot and spicy food can rev your metabolism and put a little bounce in your step.
The most common peppers, cayenne and chili, are part of the sizzling red pepper family that turn up on the heat for our taste buds and help out our hearts. They help lower cholesterol and statistics have shown that certain cultures that eat hot and spicy foods regularly have a considerably lower rate of heart attacks and strokes.
Further, there are plenty of studies revealing that spicy foods with the compound capsaicin (the main component to cayenne pepper) help fights off cancer. Capsaicin is said to even kill cancer cells! Not only does it help in the fight against cancer, but it also can help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. How often do you hear of foods that can help keep your memory safe? Spicy foods will readily take up arms to protect your cognitive health, and guard against fading memories.
Speaking of spicy, keep curry dishes in your menu rotation especially if you like to work out particularly hard. Curcumin, found in curry, will help soothe your muscles and keep them from swelling too much if they’re sore. It’s a great anti-inflammatory.
We love using spices in our Menu-Mailer! Check it out for yourself.
One Response
True story- About eighteen months ago, I had an absolutely horrendous head cold, the worst I’d had in years. I was so stopped up in my head, and my chest was so congested, that breathing was virtually impossible. My mother thought I’d be horribly sick for days, and so did I, based on my past experience. However, I knew some things about “natural medicine” this time & decided to give it a try. I drank hot tea w/ powdered ginger & fresh lemon juice in it all day long, alternating it with drinking plain water. (You can also drink little ginger ale w/ some fresh ginger powder in it, to increase the healthiness of the ale & add an anti-nausea aid to your regimen.) I ate a big bowl of prepared chicken noodle soup w/ the following add to it- 1/2 tsp. Penzey’s Maharajah curry powder (heavy in both saffron & turmeric), a generous pinch of cayenne powder, a good dose of freshly ground black pepper, some fresh herbs & one tsp. of minced garlic. Now, this was strong stuff, but perfectly edible. Yes, I smelled like garlic, and no, I didn’t care. I took steam baths all day w/ peppermint oil & took two showers- not only to sweat out the germs, but to clean them off of my body (from coughing, sneexing, etc.) I used Purell gel, Lysol wipes & Disinfectant Spray all day long like it was going out of style. I alternated taking three aspirin- to break my fever & thus, sweat out the cold- & two Dayquils liqui-gels, taking each dose twice that day. I munched on crystallized ginger, as well.
By the next day, I was 85% better, and another day later, though not feeling 100%, I went back to work full-time. I was completely better in four days. This was the quickest cold I’ve ever had, and the only chest cold that didn’t turn into bronchitis or pneumonia. Even the skeptics, like my mother, were converted to this. A combo of Western & natural medicine works in tandem.