Zhang Tiankan
Many people say that this is an era of spicy food; but many people think that eating too spicy will irritate the gastrointestinal tract.
A few days ago, researchers announced a large study of more than 510,000 people in China, and the results showed that eating chili peppers can reduce the risk of digestive tract cancer.
What's going on here, and should there be a shift in our attitude toward chili?
Chili irritating the stomach does not equal cancer
If it wasn't for Columbus who discovered the New World and brought peppers back to Europe, and if it wasn't for the Spaniards who introduced peppers to China in the late Ming Dynasty, maybe only Americans in the world would eat peppers.
Today, chili is popular all over the world and has become an indispensable ingredient on the table.
Gao Lian, an opera writer and health-preserving expert in the Ming Dynasty, recorded in "Zunsheng Bajian": "Spiced peppers grow in clusters, with white flowers, and the fruit looks like a bald pen. The taste is spicy and red, and it is very impressive." The plant existed and was not eaten until it was introduced to Southwest China. The reason was that at that time, chili could replace the scarce well salt as a better seasoning. At the same time, local people believed that eating spicy food and removing dampness gradually became the essence of Sichuan cuisine.
The entrance of chili will stimulate the nerve endings of the tongue and mouth. Under the instructions of the brain center, the human heart beats faster, the secretion of saliva and sweat increases, and the appetite is widened.
At the same time, the brain thinks that "pain" is coming, releasing more endorphins, making people feel the pleasure of eating spicy food.
Survey data shows that about one-third of China's 1.4 billion people eat chili peppers every day.
Due to the high incidence of gastrointestinal cancers such as esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and intestinal cancer in China, especially the incidence and mortality of esophageal cancer are among the highest in the world, many people who pay attention to health care believe that eating peppers often will hurt the stomach. The intuitive feeling is "hot".
A study has analyzed this view and found that people who like to eat chili are more likely to have abdominal obesity, which happens to be a high risk factor for inducing bowel cancer. cancer" impression.
For people with sensitive constitution or weak gastrointestinal tract, peppers are indeed easy to stimulate the gastrointestinal tract, causing stomach pain, diarrhea and other uncomfortable reactions, but this cannot be equated with cancer.
Taking intestinal cancer as an example, there is no research to prove that its occurrence is related to the love of chili peppers.
On the contrary, many studies have pointed out that colorectal cancer is more closely related to four factors: First, there is a family history of colorectal cancer or a genetic history of intestinal polyps. About 1/3 of colorectal cancer patients have a family history. Especially in patients whose age of onset is earlier than 45 years old; second, there are disease factors such as diabetes and obesity. Data show that the risk of colon cancer in diabetic patients is about 3 times higher than that of ordinary people; third, poor eating habits, love to eat red meat, Processed meat, such as bacon, bacon, etc., may face a higher risk of bowel cancer; fourth, poor living habits, especially those who are sedentary, lack of exercise is a high risk factor for bowel cancer, and it is also the incidence of bowel cancer One of the main reasons why the population is getting younger.
Eating spicy food often reduces cancer risk
Whether chili peppers are related to cancer needs to be confirmed by authoritative research.
Now, there is a more credible answer to that question.
A few days ago, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom published the results of a study on chili peppers, reflecting the relationship between eating spicy food and the incidence of three major digestive tract cancers: esophageal cancer, gastric cancer and bowel cancer. A person's risk of developing digestive tract cancer decreases and vice versa.
Specifically, people who ate chili every day had a 19%, 11%, and 10% lower risk of developing esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, and bowel cancer, respectively, compared with those who barely ate chili; , the risk of developing these 3 cancers decreased even more.
The study involved 512,000 adults aged 30 to 79 who were recruited from 5 cities and 5 rural areas in China between 2004 and 2008.
The study defines eating chili or eating spicy food as: eating fresh chili, dried chili, chili oil, chili sauce, curry, and using chili as a cooking product directly into food, including adding chili oil/sauce/paste to rice edible.
Participants were divided into 5 groups according to the frequency of consumption: 1. Never eat spicy food; 2. Eat spicy food occasionally (once a month); 3. Eat spicy food 1-2 days a week; 4. Eat spicy food 3-5 days a week Spicy; 5. Eat spicy food 6-7 days a week.
The researchers also investigated the age at which the participants began to regularly eat spicy food, the intensity of the spiciness they preferred (weak, medium, strong), and the type of spicy they frequently consumed (fresh chili, dried chili, chili sauce, chili oil, etc.).
As of January 1, 2017, after a median follow-up of 10.1 years, a total of 8761 gastrointestinal cancers had occurred, including 2350 esophageal cancers, 3350 gastric cancers, and 3061 bowel cancers.
After adjusting for demographics, lifestyle and other dietary factors, the findings showed that people who regularly ate spicy food had a lower risk of developing digestive tract cancers than others.
Specifically, compared with people who never eat spicy food, the risk of esophageal cancer was reduced by 12%, 24%, 16% and 19%, and the risk of stomach cancer was reduced by 3%, 5%, and 8%, respectively. and 11%.
As for bowel cancer, the risk of developing the disease decreased in the last three groups, by 5%, 13% and 10%, respectively.
Studies have shown that if you eat chili peppers without smoking or drinking alcohol, you can get greater benefits and reduce the risk of cancer more significantly, especially esophageal cancer.
Previously, foreign studies also found that people who like to eat chili peppers have a 23% lower chance of developing cancer.
It can be seen that the benefits of eating chili peppers outweigh the disadvantages.
Capsaicin inhibits the growth of Helicobacter pylori
Although this study on more than 510,000 people in China showed that pepper has anti-cancer effects, its mechanism has not been fully elucidated, and further research is needed to reveal it.
However, previous studies have given information from another perspective, the anti-cancer effect of pepper may be related to the inhibition of Helicobacter pylori.
Helicobacter pylori can induce gastric adenocarcinoma, gastric lymphoma and other digestive tract cancers, and capsaicin in peppers (ie, the spicy ingredient in peppers) can inhibit the growth of Helicobacter pylori.
The team of Nicola L. Jones from the Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the University of Toronto, Canada found that capsaicin specifically inhibited the growth of Helicobacter pylori in a dose-dependent manner, but not Escherichia coli commensal with human feces. growth.
Regular consumption of chili peppers inhibits Helicobacter pylori while preventing the occurrence of various gastric cancers and reducing related gastric and duodenal diseases.
In addition to inhibiting Helicobacter pylori, capsaicin has a variety of physiological functions, including increasing appetite, promoting digestion; protecting gastric mucosa, preventing and treating gastric ulcers.
The reason is that pepper can stimulate the release of prostaglandin E2 in the human body, which is conducive to promoting the regeneration of gastric mucosa and maintaining the function of gastrointestinal cells, thereby preventing and treating gastric ulcer.
However, there are plenty of choices. Capsaicin content in the range of 1%-5% has a protective effect on the stomach. This ratio is difficult to quantify in real life. You can decide according to your own eating habits, even 5-7 times a week. Eating spicy food does not cause any discomfort to the body, and it also belongs to the healthy range.
However, it should be reminded that people with congestion, edema, erosion, ulcers, severe gastritis and gastric ulcers in the mouth, esophagus, stomach and other parts should not eat too much spicy food, but a small amount is fine.
In addition, capsaicin can also promote fat metabolism, reduce lipids; relieve pain, reduce inflammation and relieve itching; dispel rheumatism and protect joint health.
Eating peppers can also help reduce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in December 2019 followed 22,811 Italian volunteers for a median of 8.2 years and found that consuming chili peppers four times a week significantly reduced deaths from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. rate and reduce the overall risk of death by 23%.
Capsicum contains unique dihydrocapsaicin esters and has weight loss effects.
In one study, subjects who took dihydrocapsaicin and a placebo burned more calories than the placebo group after a meal.
Among them, a woman weighing 50 kg consumed about 100 more calories a day; a man weighing 90 kg consumed 200 more calories a day.
In fact, the effects and health benefits of chili peppers don't stop there.
In addition to providing energy (282 kcal per 100 grams), peppers are also rich in protein, fat, sugar, dietary fiber, folic acid, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and a variety of vitamins, according to the Chinese Food Composition Table.
Among them, vitamin C is the most abundant. The vitamin C of red peppers is as high as 144 mg per 100 grams, which is 7 times that of tomatoes and 4 times that of oranges.
As we all know, vitamin C has anti-oxidant and protects cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.
Research by Chinese and British researchers has confirmed that the anti-cancer mechanism of peppers includes the anti-cancer effect of vitamin C in peppers that can resist oxidation.
According to the existing research, we can conclude that peppers with a long history in the food culture are indeed good ingredients and have many benefits. Everyone can decide whether to eat them according to their own taste preferences and gastrointestinal tolerance.
However, people with hemorrhoids need to eat less due to its inherently stimulating taste.
In addition, some people often make the dishes very oily when they eat spicy food, which is also not advisable.