It’s hard to believe anyone doesn’t love the taste of spicy food.
There are so many great options when it comes to trying out new flavors on the hot pepper scale, it’s sometimes hard to choose just one. Luckily, you don’t have to. From mild peppers to scorching hot peppers that sit at the very top of the hot scale, there are plenty of options out there that make mealtime fun. If you don’t believe us, here are six good reasons why you’ll want to add more spicy food to your diet.
The first is a good one, especially this time of year.
If you’re suffering from sinus congestion or even the flu, eating spicy food can help unclog nasal passages and ease sinus congestion. Because eating hot peppers can increase your body temperature, those peppers could even help fight off fever symptoms. There’s some relief for colds, too. It’s said the capsaicin in hot peppers can help with respiratory tract infections, asthma, and colds. There’s a possible benefit for stomach aches, as well. While some claim spicy food irritates the stomach, other research says just the opposite. Eating chili peppers may actually be the solution to calming an irritable bowel.
If you want to live longer, spicy food may help.
A large study found eating spicy food six to seven days a week resulted in reduced mortality rates. Its though capsaicin could also play a role in helping prevent cancer cell growth. Finally, some claim eating more spicy food, like hot peppers, can help with obesity. That’s, again, because of the capsaicin. When you eat it, you feel fuller, so you don’t eat as much. There are lots of studies out there that show peppers and chilis decrease appetite and increase your metabolic resting rate.