Entering China
On the Chinese dinner table, there are three meals and four seasons, and there are five flavors. The so-called “five flavors” are usually referred to as “sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty”, and Chinese medicine is divided into “sour, bitter, sweet, spicy and salty”. What is the relationship between different tastes and health? From now on, this edition will launch a series of reports on “Know the Food Points, Five Flavors” to analyze how the five flavors affect people’s health, so stay tuned.
— The editor
Chongqing spicy hot pot, red oil is boiling and boiling; Hunan chopped pepper fish head, pepper color is bright; Shaanxi oil poured spicy noodles, and the hot oil made a sound…… Spicy cuisine, mouth-watering. Are “spicy” and “spicy” the same thing? What are their benefits to the body? Let’s see what Chinese and Western medicine experts have to say.
Why is it spicy, the more you eat it, the more addictive it becomes
Hearing the word “spicy”, Hubei girl Xiaoqiu’s eyes lit up – “The feeling of eating spicy food is like setting off fireworks, and the stimulating ‘bang’ explodes on the tip of the tongue, which is simply painful and happy!”
Zhao Luqing, chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told reporters that spicy food is a general term for a class of ingredients with pungent taste, including vegetables – such as onions, ginger, garlic, onions, leeks, condiments – such as star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, angelica, pepper, pepper, mustard, curry, as well as various alcohol, alcoholic beverages, ginger cola and other drinks.
So, can “spicy” and “spicy” be equated?
“Although the two words are often used interchangeably in everyday expressions, they are not identical.” Wang Rui, deputy chief physician of the Department of Clinical Nutrition of Beijing Anzhen Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, said.
On the one hand, the pungency and spiciness, which are derived from the same chemical composition, give people similar taste sensations. According to Wang Rui, compounds such as capsaicin, allicin, and gingerol can stimulate pain receptors in the mouth, producing burning, tingling and numbness, and at the same time prompting the nervous system to release endorphins to bring pleasure. Excitement and reward coexist, making people “painful” and “fast”, which is what makes eating spicy food addictive.
On the other hand, from the perspective of sensory experience and pharmacology, “spicy” has a broader meaning than “spicy”. Zhao Luqing explained that unlike “spicy”, which focuses on pain sensations, when talking about “spicy”, it also means a volatile aromatic substance, as well as the sexual taste of a class of ingredients and medicinal materials summarized in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effect of diverging evil spirits and promoting qi and blood.
Spicy food is nutritious
In the back kitchen of a Chinese restaurant, the chef’s knives and chopping boards make a crisp sound. The garlic is crushed and finely chopped, mixed with millet spicy, coriander and seasonings into steamed soft shredded eggplant strips to enhance the flavor and sterilize; At the table at the Japanese restaurant next door, diners pick up a piece of salmon sashimi from a smoothie and sip on the wasabi, the umami mixed with the spicy spicy flavor slid into their throats……
Is eating spicy food good for the body? The controversy over this issue has never stopped. Experts say that for healthy people with suitable physique, moderate intake of spicy actually has a certain health care effect.
“Spicy drugs are mostly warm in nature, aromatic in smell, can be classified into multiple meridians, and are often used to relieve wind and cold and spleen and stomach deficiency.” Zhao Luqing said that ginger, dried ginger, and cinnamon branches enter the lung meridian, which can diverge and relieve the surface, carry out qi and blood, and clear the nose. Xiangfu, Bupleurum and green skin enter the liver meridian, which can relieve liver depression; Aconite enters the kidney meridian to warm the kidney and help yang; Spring sand kernels enter the spleen and stomach meridians, which can vaporize dampness and dissolve turbidity, and restore gastrointestinal function. In addition to internal administration, Chinese medicine also recommends soaking feet in boiled water with ginger slices and Sichuan peppercorns, which helps to relieve pain, warm meridians, dissipate cold in warmth, and generate yang qi.
From the perspective of nutrition, spicy food is generally low in sugar and fat, and rich in vitamin A, B1, B2, niacin, carotene, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, zinc and other minerals, as well as rich in dietary fiber, and has high nutritional value. “These substances have a certain positive regulatory effect on human body functions.” Wang Rui said that spicy food entering the stomach first promotes gastric acid secretion and intestinal peristalsis, thereby boosting appetite. At the same time, spicy food can promote blood circulation, which is especially beneficial for people with cold hands and feet.
The Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension in China (2024 Revised Edition) mentions that eating spicy food can prevent hypertension because capsaicin can promote the production of nitric oxide in the vascular endothelium, thereby dilating blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. Wang Rui introduced that the prostaglandins and quercetin in onions can also prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases to a certain extent. At the same time, some other components in onions can increase the utilization of blood sugar by cells, inhibit insulin resistance, and assist diabetic patients to regulate blood sugar.
In addition, some spicy ingredients also help with analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant. For example, plasters and bruising drugs may contain capsaicin and capsaicin; Allicin capsules are clinically used to treat diseases such as Helicobacter pylori and intestinal inflammation, and an appropriate amount of raw garlic can also be eaten in daily meals; The antioxidant effect is manifested in scavenging free radicals and inducing apoptosis of cancer cells, thereby playing a certain anti-aging role and helping to inhibit cancer.
It should be pointed out that the conclusions of experimental studies on spicy ingredients cannot be equated with the effect of daily consumption of spicy foods. “Because it’s not scientific to talk about effects regardless of dose, statistical correlation doesn’t equal a conclusive causal relationship.” Wang Rui emphasized, “We can only say from the perspective of the homology of medicine and food that the trace ingredients in spicy food have a certain health care effect, but the daily consumption cannot achieve significant therapeutic effects.” ”
Eating too much spicy food has a hidden risk
With so many benefits of spicy food, isn’t it better to eat more?
“Of course not. Common symptoms include swollen and sore gums, mouth sores, red and swollen eyes, eyelash inflammation, constipation, hemorrhoids, etc. Zhao Luqing explained that according to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, this is because the warm nature of spicy food will consume the water and fluid in the human body, resulting in a lack of yin fluid in the human body, unable to restrain yang energy, and excessive yang heat, resulting in the heat of “fire”.
“The damage to the body’s organs caused by long-term excessive spicy eating should not be underestimated, and the stomach bears the brunt.” Wang Rui introduced that under gastroscopy, after eating spicy food, the stomach wall of the person is red and congested, and the secretion of gastric acid will also increase. Long-term congestion and high acid environment can damage the gastric mucosa, which can easily lead to chronic gastritis and even gastric ulcers, and repeated inflammatory stimulation is one of the important factors that induce gastric cancer.
Xiaoqiu has a soft spot for spicy food, and even so, she has encountered a moment of collapse when she was “spicy to tears” in a restaurant. “In order to ‘extinguish the fire’ in my mouth and stomach, I had to eat two bowls of rice. I suspect that chili pepper essence may have been added to the dish. She said.
According to experts, capsicum extract is a legal food additive extracted and concentrated from chili peppers, but it has an extremely strong taste, and eating it in large quantities can harm your health. In addition, spicy dishes are usually high in oil and salt, and a diet high in salt can increase the burden on the heart. Some spicy snacks also contain more chemicals, which can exacerbate metabolic stress on the kidneys.
Another question Xiaoqiu is curious about is, what spicy eating behaviors are harmful to health?
Wang Rui pointed out that eating too much spicy food at one time, or the spicy degree exceeds the range of the body, will cause excessive gastric acid secretion, burn the mucosa of the digestive tract, and even induce acute gastroenteritis and gastrointestinal bleeding, which may cause irreversible damage to the digestive system. Therefore, the “spicy food challenge” on the Internet is very undesirable.
“You should also avoid the hot and cold superposition of ‘plenty of chili peppers + cold drinks’.” Wang Rui said that the rapid relaxation of blood vessels is especially dangerous to the health of patients with cerebral infarction, coronary heart disease, hypertension and people after coronary artery bypass grafting.
Who is suitable for spicy food?
Zhao Luqing said that people who often have cold hands and feet, and are afraid of cold stomach and abdomen belong to the spleen and stomach deficiency and cold constitution, which is suitable for spicy to help dissipate cold and dispel dampness in warmth, such as pepper pork belly soup, brown sugar ginger water are good choices; People with yin deficiency and fire constitution often have hot hands and feet, dry mouth, less tongue coating, and five heart irritations, so it is not suitable to eat more spicy food, otherwise it will further hurt yin and aggravate internal heat. In addition, wet areas and cold seasons are relatively suitable for spicy food; For healthy people in the Central Plains, eating spicy food 1-2 times a week is an appropriate frequency, which can obtain greater health benefits.
“If you can’t eat spicy, you can eat bell peppers.” Wang Rui said that bell peppers are warm and supplemental, containing only trace amounts of capsaicin, which is the least irritating spicy food. This vegetable is known as the “king of vitamin C”, with a content of up to 104mg/100g, which is 3 times that of oranges and 34 times that of apples. In addition, the capsaicin esters, vitamin A and carotenoids in bell peppers are also beneficial to human health.
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Q: Can eating spicy food burn fat and lose weight?
A: From the perspective of Western medicine and nutrition, spicy food can speed up blood circulation, increase metabolism, increase energy consumption, and then increase the density of beneficial brown fat, and promote the metabolism of fat-causing white fat. However, this type of food is more appetizing and often accompanied by high oil and salt, which can easily lead to total energy intake exceeding the metabolic range and eventually accumulating fat. Therefore, only by controlling the overall energy intake and eating spicy food in moderation can it help burn fat and control weight. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that obese patients mostly have phlegm and dampness, and spicy food has a certain effect of dehumidification, but the weight loss effect may not be obvious.
Q: Can pregnant women eat spicy food?
Answer: Women who like spicy food, if they lose their appetite during pregnancy, they can eat some spicy food to help appetize, but they need to be controlled and not excessive. Clinical cases and related studies have shown that there may be a certain correlation between the intake of more spicy foods during pregnancy and postpartum insomnia.
Q: Can eating spicy food “detoxify” and nourish the skin?
A: There is no scientific basis for this claim. Spicy food will speed up blood circulation and body metabolism, causing the sebaceous glands to secrete more oil, which is easy to clog pores. People who prefer spicy diets are more likely to develop breakouts, blackheads, and acne if they don’t clean properly, or if the weather is hot and the air is dusty. Moreover, spicy foods regulate the body’s immunity. Eating spicy food during the onset of the disease may exacerbate the inflammatory response and even make people allergic to things that they are not allergic to or have mild allergies.
Q: Who needs to strictly avoid spicy?
Answer: Patients with irritable bowel syndrome, reflux esophagitis, peptic ulcer, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and eczema in dermatology, and hemorrhoids in proctology should avoid spicy food, otherwise it will aggravate the condition. Patients with cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, pancreatitis, patients with anticoagulants and theophylline, as well as most patients with heart disease and postoperative populations should also eat less. Note that avoiding spicy peppers is not just about not eating chili peppers, but also includes all spicy vegetables, spices and alcoholic products.
Q: How to “relieve spiciness”?
Answer: You can drink milk or warm honey water in moderation to relieve spiciness, honey can also moisturize yin and dryness, and protect the mucosa of the digestive tract. It can also be paired with lotus root, white fungus, lily, pear, duck, winter melon, spinach and other sweet and cold foods to relieve oral burning. When the fire is severe, it is advisable to eat bitter cold foods such as bitter gourd, dandelion water, and mung bean porridge to clear away heat and relieve fire.
Q: What should I do if I have gastrointestinal discomfort after eating spicy food?
Answer: If you have acid reflux after a meal, you can eat soda crackers to protect your stomach and neutralize stomach acid. If spicy causes abdominal pain and diarrhea, it means that the stomach and intestines are sensitive and not suitable for spicy food. Once symptoms such as persistent stomach pain, severe vomiting, and diarrhea appear, you should seek medical attention immediately and take antacids, gastric mucosal protectors or probiotics under the guidance of a doctor.
