Day One Hundred and Thirteen!!!

Have you ever added hot peppers to your food? 


My mother actually grew up with no hot at all in her food, totally bland, no addition of sauces, and no addition of dressings. And then one day, she met my dad, who loves hot food. And so what happened over time, was my mother got used to the addition of spices and sauces and dressings. She hasn’t built up the capacity to manage heat as much as my dad, but she can handle some now. 


Me, on the other hand, I grew up with spice. Every meal was some level of spicy and if my mother protested, the spiciness was judged by being met with my dad’s annoyance and a question such as, “Emerald, you like it don’t you?” Which I would say yes, which was met with my dad’s approval, and long story short, I like spicy food. I put Sriracha on my shepherds pie tonight and I gotta say, it was great! 


The burning on the tongue and lips is what my mom can’t stand. It says to her that something is wrong, there is something to be afraid of! And so she immediately stops eating. My mom actually found a tiny hot pepper in the olive jar, took a small bite, and got upset when her lips started to tingle, she blamed me for sabotaging her olive time. Bottom line, your ability to handle spicy comes from your upbringing, being open to knew things, and the ability to emotionally be ok with the feeling that it gives you.


So, what is actually really interesting is that there is something in hot peppers that actually gives you a feeling of euphoria. There is something called capsaicin that can give a feeling of a ‘high’ like a drug, because the burning on the tongue can cause an excitement in the brain. This excitement in the brain results in the excretion of endorphins which can give you the feeling of a ‘high’. The other important factor is that there are therapeutic benefits of ingesting hot peppers. What are these therapeutic benefits? Chilli peppers can; loosen up chest decongestant, and is an anesthetic to kill pain. This is due to the capsaicin contained within the chilli.


There are a number of different types of chilli’s; hot, mild and sweet. Chilli’s can be minced, chopped, spiced, fried, boiled, and grilled. They add flavour and colour and texture to your food. Up until 20 minutes after eating spicy food, the chemical capsaicin aids in weight loss, as it heats up the body and speeds up the metabolism. Capsaicin is actually added to most weight loss pills and supplements.


It’s important to identify whether you can manage the hotter, milder, or sweeter versions. Hot chilli’s are; cayenne,jalapeño, yellow jalapeño, Serrano, poblano, habaneros. Mild chilli’s are; Anaheim, green chilli, pascilla, pepperoncini, and ancho. Sweet chilli’s are Hungarian chilli, red chilli, and mulato. 


So it is important to recognize that when adding the sweet variety of chiles that you are actually adding a huge amount of carbohydrates. So they are actually really not an option.


It is thought that eating spicy foods boosts the metabolism, makes you sweat and helps in burning fat, calories, and helps in weight management and the overall weight loss journey.