Make it Hot: The Pros and Cons of Spicy Food!

I’ve had a pretty romantic and stable relationship for a long, long time; It’s my shelter, the love of my life and the reason why I live. That’s food. However, sometimes the love we share seems to be burning out, and I wonder if maybe it’s time to bring back the flame. And that’s where spicy dishes come along. I know, I know, it sounds a bit extreme, non traditional and out of the comfort zone of many, but we have to experience different things to know what we really want in life. So, I’m sure you have been there at some point in your life. Do you really want to try it? Is it healthy? Let’s talk about it!

Pros

Boost your metabolism: Studies have shown that many of the traditionally spicy ingredients contain capsaicin, which is a substance that increases our heart rate and the body temperature. it boosts calories burning, thus helping the body lose weight. It also helps with satiety: People that prefer spicy food rarely eat huge portions and overall this reduces the caloric intake during meals. Some studies even show that the capsaicin and its metabolic derivatives help as an appetite suppressant, as well as enhancing the system to dissolute cholesterol.

Clearing airways: Have you ever experienced a runny nose after eating something with a hot sauce? This is a side effect of the increase of caloric burn that’s generated after consuming something spicy. So whenever you are suffering from allergies or having a flu, get yourself a hot soup and rest assured that your nose will be cleared in no time!

Falling asleep: The warm feeling after eating spicy food it’s actually great to fight insomnia. The body relaxes as it lowers the blood pressure and we feel calm and ready to take a great nap. Since it also increases the level of endorphin and serotonin, we also feel stress relieved because those two are pleasure hormones.  

Cons

Stomach Diseases: Although people often correlate things like gastritis to the consumption of spicy food, there’s no further linkage. However, some can irritate the stomach lining leading to an upset with a resulting digestive trouble in most cases. It can also affect on people with ulcers, since our body produces more stomach acid when we consume things like chiles.

Harm to tastebuds: Do you ever wonder why people that eat a lot of hot sauce end up increasing their intake of that kind of dressing? Because it’s addictive: Our taste buds get used to the taste and the fresh food with less punch doesn’t attract us anymore, since it now seems insipid in comparison.  

Pain: Remember the burning feeling in your tongue? It comes from the fact that when food is too spicy it stops being tolerable to you. When you try to eat something particularly strong, don’t endure it: If you feel pain, stop eating. Eating should be a pleasant experience and not a contest on who’s the biggest macho at dinnertime.

The traditional dishes with chiles and other sort of spicy ingredients are common in many cultures, and when you take it to the next level you have to stay true to their roots. That’s why the guys of RG Cocina Mexicana keep adding those ingredients to keep the essence of Mexican food in their dishes.