Hot Peppers and Digestion: What You Need to Know

The spicy snap of hot peppers is enough to make anyone wonder whether his stomach is danger of being incinerated. Fortunately, even in all their spiciness, hot peppers are not as dangerous as they may seem.

What Makes Peppers Hot?

• The chemical that gives hot peppers their spiciness is called capsaicin (pronounced kap-SAY-uh-sin). Capsaicin is found mostly in the white pithy ribs and seeds of the pepper.

Types of Peppers

• The hotness of a pepper is measured using the Scoville heat scale. The sweet bell pepper has zero Scoville units, while the hottest pepper in the world, the bhut jolokia, has a whopping 1 million Scoville units.

Does Capsaicin Damage The Stomach?

• Despite their reputation, hot peppers do not cause intestinal damage. In fact, a study done by Dr. David Y. Graham of the Baylor College of Medicine suggests that capsaicin actually helps protect the stomach lining.

Benefits of Peppers

• Eating hot peppers can speed metabolism, which helps to burn extra calories. Hot peppers can also act as an appetite suppressant. In addition, they can help alleviate respiratory problems when eaten because capsaicin causes the body to release fluids that wash away irritants.

Hot Pepper Misconceptions

• The color of a pepper has nothing to do with its heat level. It signifies the fruit's maturity. Also, hot peppers were once thought to both cure ulcers and help with high cholesterol, although clinical tests have found no evidence to support either of these claims.