Posted on 08/13/2006 11:33:42 AM PDT by blam
Week of Aug. 12, 2006; Vol. 170, No. 7 , p. 109
Blood sugar and spice
Ben Harder
Eating cayenne pepper with meals may mitigate a hormonal response that's linked to diabetes, a trial of two diets suggests.
To compare the effects on insulin of different patterns of chili pepper consumption, researchers at the University of Tasmania in Launceston, Australia, conducted a study in 36 healthy adults who didn't typically eat chili peppers. Excess insulin production can presage diabetes.
For 4 weeks of the study, each volunteer ate his or her usual bland diet, except for one chili-laden meal at the end of the period. For another 4 weeks, each person ate 30 grams per day of a condiment that was 55 percent cayenne pepper.
At three points—once during the bland diet, once during the spicy diet, and once at the transition—researchers took blood samples from the volunteers. The scientists measured concentrations of insulin and other substances in the samples.
In metabolizing their meals, the study participants produced about one-third less insulin while they were on a spicy diet than on a bland diet. A stand-alone spicy meal had an intermediate effect on insulin, Madeleine Ball and her colleagues report in the July American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Obese volunteers benefited the most, the study revealed.
If you have a comment on this article that you would like considered for publication in Science News, send it to editors@sciencenews.org. Please include your name and location.
"each person ate 30 grams per day of a condiment that was 55 percent cayenne pepper."
Woo Hoo! Where's the Porta-Potty? Hurry!
That's good, but they wind up with BBS...Burning Butt Syndrome
LOL. That's where you holler, "Come onnnnn icecream."
Also check out the supplements curcumin and CLA.
Very interesting. It's already known that consumption of small amounts of cinnamon and turmeric every day can help control blood sugar levels in diabetics.
I guess this bodes well for my family, as we use great quantities of chile peppers, not necessarily just cayennes, in our diets.
It may also bode very well for sales of my hot pepper jellies!!!!!
Ping
30 grams is about a quarter bottle of Dave's Insanity Sauce. Sure, I can do that!
Turmeric has been shown in some studies to prevent Alzheimers too.
Cinnamon has excellent properties that are helpful for diabetics, as well.
Am I to conclude that diabetes is unheard of in Mexico?
Thanks for reminding me........I've got 25 habanero seedlings that need transplanting :)
Careful planting them near other, milder varieties of pepper ... this may sound strange, but I've eaten ordinary green peppers out of my garden that apparently cross pollinated with a nearby row of habañeros - surprise - hot!!!
Been there, done that!!!!!
I learned that lesson the hard way more than 10 years ago. My hot and sweet peppers are seperated by about 150 feet. And I have my hots in rows, habaneros at one end and jalapenos at the other, and in between they are in descending order of heat.
ping
They actually were pretty tasty, used in a dish that works with the heat. But, it's a little disconcerting when you don't know it's coming, lol.
Only if you are a whimp!
An ounce a day, rots your bowels away!
The body acclimates to the burn, somehow. When I was first introduced to habañeros, I thought I'd blistered my mouth. But, I do love hot, spicy food, and over time, I got to the point that I only experienced the good part of the hot and spicy, and not the bad.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.