Be kind to your stomach: eat chilies

A curry a day keeps the doctor away?

By Lucy Sherriff • Get more from this author

Posted in Biology, 14th September 2007 07:02 GMT

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Red hot chili peppers (not the band, the actual peppers) could be good for the stomach, according to new research.

According to website chosun.com, medical research has shown that capsaicin, the part of chilies that makes them hot, can help to control the disease-causing bacterium, helicobacter pylori*. And the more capsaicin, the better, it seems.

Professor Lee Yong-chan from the Division of Gastroenterology of Yonsei University Severance Hospital injected various concentrations of capsaicin into samples of stomach cells from patients with the bacterium. More capsaicin meant less inflammation, the team reports. The work is set to be published in the journal Helicobacter.

However, since the findings were not based on in-human trials, the research team is shying away from claiming too much for the peppers.

But the chili has been touted as a disease-buster before. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that chilies could be used to combat the onset of type-2 diabetes, as those who ate chili-filled meals had lower levels of insulin in their blood after eating.

Other research suggests the fiery substance could kill off prostate cancer cells, per the Chicago Herald. ®

*Yes, we read it as helicopter the first time, too. It is Friday, after all.

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