The Pros and Cons of eating too much spice
Spicy food for many is heavenly, while for others it’s a no! no!! Just like everything else in life, the consumption of spicy food has two sides to it- the good and the bad. There are a lot of benefits to eating spicy food, and there can always be too much of a good thing. Eating too much spicy food can sometimes lead to negative effects. Dr. Farida Abdullahi, a dietician with Abuja Clinics highlights on some of these positive and negative effects are discussed below.
PROS
1. Metabolism: Capsaicin, one of the sources of spiciness in chilies, may be able to help you lose weight by increasing your metabolism. Capsaicin raises body temperatures, which causes your body to burn more calories.
2. Satiety: Increasing feelings of fullness may be another spicy food benefit. Spiciness may act as an appetite suppressant and help you to avoid overeating.
3. Heart Health: Studies have found correlations between eating spicy food and lowered incidence of stroke and heart attack because of capsaicin’s ability to fight inflammation and chilies’ ability to help prevent blood clotting.
4. Cleared Sinuses: Whether you’ve got a cold or allergies, spicy food can sometimes help you to clear your nasal passages.
CONS
1. Stomach Upset: Excessive spiciness can sometimes lead to an upset stomach. It should be noted that while some people believe that ulcers can be caused by eating too much spicy food, the current medical opinion is that the majority of these sores come because of bacterial infections. Although it is advisable to avoid spicy food if you already have an ulcer. 2. Heartburn: some people experience heartburn when they eat too much spicy food. If you start having heartburn, try chewing a stick of gum. The increased saliva can help to ease the symptoms and help the food move downward. 3. Diarrhea: Diarrhea after consumption of spicy food is a common occurrence for some people. One cause of this seems to be that spicy food can irritate the stomach’s lining. 4. Insomnia: It was mentioned earlier that raising metabolism was one potential benefit of eating spicy food, but that could easily become a con if you eat spicy food right before bed. Spicy food can sometimes interfere with your body cooling down in preparation for sleep.