HEALTH WATCH

Pick A Pepper
Hot chile peppers pack potential health punch

By Nancy Ross Ryan
SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE
October 24, 2000

Chili peppers, fresh or dried, are common in supermarkets these days, along with an ever-wider variety of salsas. Chefs use chilies as fluently as they use salt and pepper. Bookstore browsers have their choice of a dozen hot-and-spicy cookbooks. All these signs indicate that Americans' love affair with the chili is far from cooling down. Fanning the flames even higher is mounting evidence that these spicy members of the genus Capsicum pack powerful health benefits.

The potential benefits range from antioxidants to pain killers to laxatives. Investigation is ongoing, and though some claims don't have sufficient research behind them, others do.

"Chili peppers are packed with antioxidant vitamin C and beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body," says Janet Helm, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

"Free radicals, which are the harmful oxygen molecules that can accumulate in the body and cause cell damage, may be the starting point of certain cancers." Vitamin C and beta carotene help prevent that oxidation.

The riper peppers get, the more carotenoids they contain, says Dr. John La Puma, medical director of CHEF Clinic and professor of nutrition at Kendall College in Evanston. Beta carotene is the best known carotenoid, but others are alpha carotene, lutein, lycopene and cryptoxanthin.

"And many chronic disease processes are now thought to be oxidative ones, from cataract formation, to prostate cancer to stroke," he says.

Some Like Them Hot
And some don't. Because sweet, mild bell peppers also belong to the Capsicum family, the question arises: Why not get your dose of antioxidants from bell peppers? You can, but you'll have to eat a lot more of them.

"All peppers are high in those antioxidants, but chilies are more nutritious than sweet peppers," says Christine M. Palumbo, R.D., nutritionist for Foodfit.com. She offered the following examples: 1/2 cup of green bell pepper has 315 International Units (IU) of vitamin A, while 1/2 cup of red bell pepper has 2,850 IU. Compare that with 1,155 IU for 1/2 cup green jalapeños and 8,060 IU for 1/2 cup of red ones. A comparable difference in vitamin C content shows up. On the other hand, who can choke down half a cup of hot chilies?

If you can, or if that dose ended up being too much chili for comfort, don't reach for beer, wine or water to put out the fire in your mouth: That will only make it worse.

"Reach for a dairy product -- milk, yogurt, even cottage cheese," counsels Tammy Baker, an ADA spokeswoman in Tempe, Ariz.

"The casein (milk protein) component in milk binds with the capsaicin and acts like a detergent to strip the capsaicin from the tongue."

Where's the Fire?
Capsaicin (cap-SAY-a-sin) is the potent alkaloid-unaffected by cooking, freezing or drying-that makes hot peppers hot. The most capsaicin is in the white interior membranes or ribs; the seeds are second in concentration and the flesh is third.

Capsaicin is also the active ingredient in over-the-counter ointments that relieve arthritis, certain forms of neuralgia, psoriasis and some post-operative pains. According to Dr. David Schiedermayer, who teaches at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, capsaicin neutralizes pain by depleting "substance P," which helps transmit pain messages.

Unlike other local anesthetics, which impair sensitivity to touch and vibrations, capsaicin affects only sensations dealing with perception of hot and cold, sharp and dull. Although the first few applications of a capsaicin cream may burn, the feeling usually decreases with repetition, which is required for the creams to be effective. Another disadvantage is that patients have to take extreme care to avoid contact with eyes and mucous membranes.

A Jalapeño a Day
While a jalapeño a day may not keep the doctor away, it will certainly "prevent scurvy and keep you from reaching for the salt shaker," says Nancy Gerlach, R.D., an Albuquerque, New Mexico based cookbook author and food writer.

"If you are looking for ways to cut down on sodium, more heat means more flavor in your food," she says. "And chilies may even improve digestion and stimulate appetite," says Helm. Gerlach suggests that eating chilies might protect against developing ulcers by increasing the production of the protective mucous lining of the stomach.

And La Puma says that a couple of spoonfuls of jalapeño- or serrano-containing salsa in the morning eased some patients' complaints of constipation.

"Salsa is so much more appealing than stewed prunes for this purpose," he said, "and a lot less caloric."

Other potential chili benefits await additional research: