by Sheryl Walters, citizen journalist

(NaturalNews) Spicy foods add an incredible amount of flavour to food. As ethnic foods become abundant, chilli and spicy food is increasingly popular. The good news is that adding spice to our food has a range of benefits for our health and wellbeing.

Chillies have long been used in traditional medicine, probably first by the Aztecs. In Russia, a drink called Nastoyka (made from chillies soaked in vodka) has also been taken as a healing remedy.

Reduced Cancer Death Rate

Scientists have proven that capsaicin, which is responsible for the burning sensation when we eat chillies, can kill cancer cells, indicating that people could at least prevent the onset of cancer by eating spicy food. This is because it is a natural antioxidant, meaning that it defends against disease causing toxins.

According to the World Health Organization, countries where diets are traditionally high in capsaicin have significantly lower cancer death rates for men and women than in countries where little spicy food is consumed.

Dr Timothy Bates who made the discovery, says that “This is incredibly exciting and may explain why people living in countries like Mexico and India, who traditionally eat a diet which is very spicy, tend to have lower incidences of many cancers that are prevalent in the western world.”

According to Bates, capsaicin attacks the power house of the tumour, thus killing the cancerous tumour cells and reducing tumour growth without harming the surrounding healthy cells. Capsaicin has been found to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in laboratory studies.

Prevents Dangerous Blood Clots

As well as preventing cancer, researchers have also noticed that people who consume large amounts of chilli peppers experienced a lower incidence of thrombo-embolism, or potentially dangerous blood clots.

Scientists have studied the medical records of countries where spicy foods are regularly consumed, and found that people who eat a diet high in chillies experience a much lower incidence of blood clotting diseases. It has now been scientifically proven that capsicum is able to break down blood clots.

Other Benefits of Hot Super Foods Include:

- Chillies are anti inflammatory, so they prevent and relieve arthritis.

- Lower Blood Pressure Naturally- Going hot increases the circulatory system and maintains strong cell walls.

- Chillies are a fantastic remedy for Cluster Headaches and Migraines, and can be put on the temples to sooth the pain. Some researchers are even investigating the effects of snorting it up the nose!

- A mood lifter, depression fighter, and powerful stress reliever. Capsicum increases endorphins and other mood elevating, “feel good” substances.

- Chillies can help protect us from common winter conditions. It may reduce flu symptoms, sinusitis, and respiratory problems. It opens everything up, makes you sweat, and boosts the immune system.

- A powerful remedy for Herpes Simplex flare -ups. You can rub a hot chilli straight on the skin to watch it disappear! Now available in the form of a prescription drug, capsicum ointment is applied to the skin to aid in controlling the pain associated with herpes zoster, also known as shingles.

- A natural muscle relaxant and pain reliever. We all know that putting something hot and spicy on muscular pain offers relief. Again, a hot chilli pepper straight on the skin will do the trick. There are also a number of creams that have capsicum in them to sooth and heal painful muscles.

- Chillies have been shown to have a positive effect on an overactive bladder and on people who have incontinence. It can block contractions that cause unpredictable loss of urine.

- Spicy foods can heal psoriasis and other skin conditions. Topical capsaicin creams have been prescribed to dry up psoriasis patches.

- Studies have shown that ulcers respond well to chillies. Hot peppers inhibit the growth of H. Pylori, the bacteria that causes certain kinds of ulcers.

- Capsicum is good for the skin because it is anti inflammatory and improves circulation.
- Spicy foods improve libido and sex drive.

So if you can handle your food hot, turn up the notch and enjoy the amazing healing benefits and added taste of spicy foods.

Also see:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/62447…

Reprinted from NaturalNews.

The study, published in the February edition of the scientific journal Hypertension, was led by David D. Gutterman, M.D., Northwestern Mutual Professor of Cardiology, professor of medicine and physiology, and senior associate dean of research at the Medical College. Shane Phillips, M.D., a former Cardiology faculty member at the Medical College, and now assistant professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of Illinois – Chicago, was the lead author.

Public awareness of the “obesity epidemic” has resulted in various dietary weight loss strategies. In America, it is estimated that 45 percent of women and 30 percent of men diet to lose weight.

“The nutrient-specific effects of these diets on cardiovascular health are largely unknown,” says Dr. Gutterman.

“Low-carbohydrate diets are significantly higher in total grams of fat, protein, dietary cholesterol and saturated fats than are low-fat diets. While a low-carbohydrate diet may result in weight loss and improvement in blood pressure, similar to a low-fat diet, the higher fat content is ultimately more detrimental to heart health than is the low-fat diet suggested by the American Heart Association,” points out Dr. Phillips.

“The higher fat content of a low-carbohydrate diet may put dieters at an increased risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) because low-carbohydrate diets often reduce protection of the endothelium, the thin layer of cells that line the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The reduced production from the endothelium of nitric oxide, a specific chemical, puts the vessel at higher risk of abnormal thickening, greater clotting potential, and cholesterol deposition, all part of the atherosclerosis process,” says Dr. Gutterman.

Over a six-week period, the researchers found reduced flow-mediated dilation in the arm artery in participants who were on the low-carbohydrate diet. Reduced flow-mediated dilation, as measured in this study, is an early indicator of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, flow-mediated dilation improved significantly in participants on the low-fat diet suggesting a healthier artery which is less prone to developing atherosclerosis.

“We observed a reduction in brachial artery flow-mediated dilation after six weeks of weight loss on a low-carbohydrate, Atkins’-style diet,” Dr. Gutterman says.

Low-carbohydrate diets were also found to have significantly less daily folic acid than low-fat diets. Folic acid is thought to be helpful in reducing the likeliness of heart disease. This protective effect results from the antioxidant property of folic acid and its ability to lower levels of homocysteine, a naturally occurring amino acid that can be dangerous at elevated levels.

The low-carbohydrate diet provided 20 grams of carbohydrates daily and was supplemented with protein and fat content according to the Atkins’ diet recommendations. The low-fat diet provided 30 percent of the calories as fat, and was modeled after the American Heart Association’s recommendations.

“The composition of diet may be as important as the degree of weight loss in determining the effect of dietary interventions on vascular health,” Dr. Gutterman notes.

Twenty participants between the ages of 18 to 50 with a body mass index ranging from 29 to 39 were monitored for the study, and the type of diet was randomly assigned to participants. Weight loss, flow-mediated dilation, blood pressure and insulin and glucose levels in the participants were measured every two weeks for the six-week study.

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The study was funded by the support of the National Institutes of Health General Clinical Research Center and the Medical College of Wisconsin Cardiovascular Center. It was conducted at Froedtert Hospital, the College’s major teaching affiliate.

Co-authors of the study included Jason Jurva, M.D., assistant professor of medicine; Amjad Syed, resident in surgery (University of Illinois – Chicago); Amina Syed, resident in family practice with the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals; Jacquelyn Kulinski, senior medical student; Joan Pleuss, senior research dietician; and Raymond Hoffmann, Ph.D., professor of population health in the division of biostatistics.