A HOT TOPIC: ARE SPICY FOODS HEALTHY OR DANGEROUS ? Seasoning Greetings !

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I’ve met too many people who swear that eating spicy foods is more
dangerous than having ‘Florida Man’ as your Uber driver. Anytime my
in-laws see my kids eating something spicy, they look at my wife
and I like we’re letting our kids play in a sandbox filled with
cocaine. Speaking of cocaine (you have to love that transition),
when I was a resident working at a VA clinic, I had the privilege
of taking care of veterans who were trying to get their life
together and overcome some of the hardships of war. My vets would
come to my clinic eager to share updates about how they’re
improving their lives. People would say things like, “I stopped
using cocaine, I stopped drinking, I stopped cheating on my old
lady, and I stopped eating spicy foods.” I would hear these stories
and think to myself, “Whoa, since when did spicy foods become on
par with infidelity and cocaine use?”

For the record, spicy foods are absolutely NOT on par with using
cocaine or cheating on your spouse (both of those can be deadly).
Last time I checked, unless your mistress is named Cholula, having
a little Tobasco sauce in your life doesn’t end with marriage
counseling and lawyer fees.

Nonetheless, there’s some confusion about whether spicy foods
are healthy or dangerous. In this post, I want to shed some
evidence-based light on spicy foods to clear up some of this
confusion.

ARE SPICY FOODS HEALTHY? OF COURSE, THEY ARE. LET’S BREAK IT
DOWN.
Capsaicinoids are the chemical components of peppers that create
their spicy taste. Research over the past couple of decades has
demonstrated that capsaicinoids, thus spicy foods, also possess
several health benefits.

1. EATING SPICY FOODS MAY HELP YOU LIVE LONGER.
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According to an extensive population-based study published in
BMJ in 2015, “Compared with those who ate spicy foods less than
once a week, those who consumed spicy foods 6 or 7 days a week
showed a 14% relative risk reduction in total mortality.” The
association between spicy food consumption and total mortality “was
stronger in those who did not consume alcohol than those who
did.”

It’s ok to eat your spicy foods, but cut down on the margaritas
with your spicy tacos.

2. SPICY FOODS DON’T CAUSE ULCERS—THEY MAY ACTUALLY HELP
ULCERS.
As a gastroenterologist, I diagnose people with ulcers all the
time. When I tell someone they have an ulcer after a procedure,
almost everyone is quick to blame spicy foods. People frequently
ignore the fact they are taking ibuprofen ‘around the clock’ or
that they may have a bacteria called H. Pylori (one of the world’s
most common causes of ulcers).

Contrary to popular belief, multiple studies show that capsaicin
actually inhibits acid production in the stomach. As a matter of
fact, people have looked into using capsaicin as a medication for
preventing ulcer development in people who take non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs.

If you’re worried about an ulcer, go see your friendly
neighborhood GI doc (you can look me up if you’re in Chicago). Most
importantly, when seeing your doc, make sure you have a
conversation about any anti-inflammatory meds you’re using.

3. SPICY FOODS DON’T CAUSE HEMORRHOIDS, BUT THEY MAY IRRITATE
ANAL FISSURES.

via GIPHY

I remember back in 3rd grade, one of my classmates saw me
putting hot sauce on some Jay’s Potato Chips (Chicagoans know what
I’m talking about). He immediately yelled out, “Eddie is going to
get hemorrhoids (people called me Eddie back then).”

That interaction is memorable since ‘hemorrhoids’ is such an odd
thing for an 8-year-old to bring up—who does that? Even though I
was a kid whose best friend was a World Book Encyclopedia, I had to
ask my mom about hemorrhoids and hot sauce. When I asked her, she
just responded by saying she needs to put me in private school.

This was the ‘burning question’ that put me on the path of
becoming a gastroenterologist (not really, I just wanted to write
‘burning question’).

Apparently, I wasn’t the only person with this question because
someone actually did a research study that evaluated the connection
between spicy foods and hemorrhoids. In 2006, in a study published
in Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, researchers randomly assigned
people with large hemorrhoids to taking a placebo capsule or a
capsule of red hot chili powder. The participants had to rate the
effects of the pills on their hemorrhoid symptoms. The study found
that the spicy capsules had no effect on hemorrhoid symptoms.

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The story is a little different for people with small tears in
the anus called anal fissures. Anal fissures are extremely
painful—’make a grown adult cry’ painful. A study in 2008
demonstrated that spicy foods aggravate symptoms associated with
anal fissures. In the study, patients were randomly given a week of
placebo and a week of chili pepper capsules. They had to keep track
of anal fissure symptoms over the study period. Eighty-one percent
of the participants felt better on the placebo.

4. SPICY FOODS MAY HELP WITH WEIGHT LOSS.
C’mon, hot sauce can help you lose weight? It can, according to a
meta-analysis of 90 different studies that looked at the role of
capsaicin in weight management. The analysis found spicy foods
reduce appetite and that they increase energy expenditure. In fact,
the researchers observed that consumption of “capsaicinoids
increases energy expenditure by approximately 50 kcal/day.”

ARE SPICY FOODS DANGEROUS? IT DEPENDS ON HOW SPICY. YOU’VE HEARD
OF PEPPER SPRAY, RIGHT?

Not too long ago, I saw a show on YouTube called Hot Ones. The
simplicity of the show is what makes it beautiful—it’s just a host
interviewing celebrities while eating super spicy hot sauces. Some
of the hot sauces are over 100 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. I
guess I was a victim of ‘toxic masculinity’ because my testosterone
levels made me try one of the hottest sauces on the show. It was
one of those sauces that comes with a warning label. On the show,
they dabbed a wing in one drop of the sauce. I foolishly poured a
small amount on an organic tortilla chip (it was more than a
dab).

My Post-2

The first bite was cool. I felt some heat with the second bite.
My tongue died with the third bite. It felt like I was a vampire
who just took a bite out of the devil. It felt like I was gargling
with lava. After 10 seconds of tongue melting pain, I truly think I
passed out and started hallucinating.

via GIPHY

Honestly, I swear I had an out of body experience and I went a
vision quest. On my capsaicin-induced trip, I ran into one of my
African ancestors. I thought he was going give me some
life-altering knowledge—nope. All he said was, “Dude, you didn’t
see the warning label on the bottle?” That’s when I woke up on my
kitchen floor in severe pain with my wife staring at me with the
side-eye of matrimonial shame.

After guzzling a gallon of milk, eating a loaf of bread, and
going to my prayer closet—I decided to look up the dangers of
ridiculously spicy foods.

A CASE OF ESOPHAGEAL PERFORATION AFTER EATING GHOST PEPPERS.
The hot sauce I ate was ghost pepper based. When I started my
search for dangers of super spicy foods, the first article I came
across was from the Journal of Emergency Medicine. It was about a
guy who ate ghost peppers as part of a contest. He started vomiting
violently (I’ve been there). He eventually vomited so hard that he
eventually ruptured his esophagus.

Granted, the rupture was likely due to the vomiting, not from
any direct effects of the spicy peppers. But, the crazy hot peppers
definitely triggered the vomiting.

ALRIGHT, DOC YOU SAID SPICY FOODS DON’T CAUSE ULCERS, BUT I
SWEAR I HAVE BELLY PAIN EVERY TIME I EAT SPICY FOODS. WHAT’S UP
WITH THAT?
Although spicy foods don’t cause ulcers, they can trigger abdominal
pain in some people. One study specifically highlighted that
frequent consumption of spicy foods can trigger upper
gastrointestinal symptoms in some people with dyspepsia. For people
with irritable bowel syndrome, spicy foods can also trigger
symptoms. Another study showed that “those consuming spicy foods ≥
10 times per week were 92% more likely to have IBS compared with
those who never consumed spicy foods.” When the researchers tried
to analyze this finding based on gender, they found that spicy
foods were not associated irritable bowel symptoms in men.

In people with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s Disease or
Ulcerative Colitis), spicy foods can also trigger some
symptoms.

DR. ED, WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
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Spicy foods are healthy
They don’t cause ulcers, but be careful if you have irritable bowel
syndrome, dyspepsia, or IBD. Basically, if spicy foods give you
belly pain, think before you eat.
Spicy foods don’t cause hemorrhoids, but you may feel the burn if
you have anal fissures.
Don’t get spicy foods in your eyes
Use gloves if handling super hot peppers
Know your Scoville units
Regarding ridiculously spicy foods with warning labels, eat them at
your own risk. Fellas, that ghost pepper sauce almost burnt off my
chest hairs from the inside—respect it.

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