Are you also fond of some piping hot spicy food?. Spicy food fascinates a lot of people. Specially Indian people love spicy food way too much. India is also known as the land of spices. Flavors and spices here bring a whole new different taste to Indian food. That’s something many food bloggers and analysts from across the world acknowledge. But does immunity scares you?
Nowadays People are quite scared of the damage this virus causes. And in order to protect yourself, one must have a strong immune system. Immunity refers to the capability of multicellular organisms to detect and fight harmful bacteria in the body. The immune system consists of tissues, cells, organs, and proteins. These substances come together and perform body processes that fight pathogens. Pathogens are viruses, bacteria, and foreign bodies that cause infections or diseases. When the immune system meets the pathogen, it releases antibodies that attach themselves to the antigens on the pathogen and kill them.
The immune system plays a vital role in supporting your body to fight any disease. Hence, taking care of your immunity is crucial. Like different food items provide different nutrients, similarly, some food items boost your immune system. It’s quite fascinating to know that spicy food can help you in boosting immunity and also have other health benefits. This means you can boost your immunity while having some delicious spicy food. Sounds like a great deal no?
Here are some benefits that spicy food can offer you.
Boosts Metabolism
Researches show that spicy food can help in boosting your metabolism. Though the rate at which spicy food can help in boosting your immune system is 8 percent which is not considered to be too much. But still, regularity in it can bring the change slowly but surely.
Also, spicy food restricts your hunger. If you have spicy food for breakfast, you are less likely to go for a heavy meal in your next dining. A study by Canadian researchers looked at a group of adult men and found that those who were served the hot sauce with appetizers before a meal went on to consume on average about 200 fewer calories at lunch and in later meals than their peers who did not have anything with capsaicin. In short, you are likely to consume fewer calories if you add a bit of spice to your food every day. Intake of fewer calories is a health benefit on its own.
Less calorie intake helps in losing body weight. Having a healthy body weight is a good sign. Spicy food ends up increasing the temperature of your body. Increased temperature results in increasing your metabolism rate. Also, it not only help you in eating less but increases the rate of metabolism also increases the rate at which calories burn in your body.
Also Read: 5 best possible ways for weight loss without dieting
Cancer Prevention
Some spices are not just about their flavours but also provides you with some important health benefits. One of the most popular spices “turmeric” is one of this kind. You can find turmeric in any Indian household very easily. Turmeric is used as a home remedy for a very long. Milk with turmeric is said to be a wound healer. But only this, Curcumin, the ingredient in the spice turmeric has both, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Many studies show that curcumin kills cancer cells and even prevent cancer cells from forming in the first place.
Some researches on animals state that curcumin can prevent some sort of cancers like stomach, breast, lung, colon, prostate, and liver cancers. The American Cancer Society concludes that capsaicin may slow the growth of prostate cancer cells. Though, it’s not compulsory that only these ingredients can cure cancer or prevent it. But still, even a minimal change is a big step when you are talking about health.
Improves Digestion
People have been advising to avoid spicy food whenever someone feels sick or has any problem related to digestion for ages now. In fact, medical advice for people who have digestion problems has been to avoid spicy foods like the plague. But the fact is that spicy food can actually help in improving your digestion. Studies show that spicy foods can actually help heal the lining of the stomach and slow down the production of excess acid. Also, eating chilly peppers may even lower the risk of ulcers in the first place.
Spices such as ginger and chilly powder can reduce stomach inflammation and may also heal infections. Turmeric may also help in treating irritable bowel syndrome. But as we know, spicy food causes a burning effect that can make you feel uncomfortable, especially when you are not used to it. Hence, try to start adding spicy food to your meal in small portions initially and then increase the consumption slowly.
Boost Up Your Immunity
Many species that add up taste in your food contain Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Both these nutrients play a crucial part in boosting up your immunity. Vitamin C is a kind of nutrients that is most essential for the immune system. Research shows that Vitamin C is essential for preventing and fighting any disease. Taking 100-200 mg of vitamin C daily can help you fight many harmful infections. It also plays a regulatory role in cellular immune responses and humoral immune processes.
Vitamin A is a micronutrient that is crucial for maintaining vision, promoting growth and development. Vitamin A is known as an anti-inflammation vitamin because of its critical role in enhancing immune function. Hence, Vitamin A helps in boosting your immune system.
Curcuma in Turmeric crushes many inflammatory components in the body. These components are responsible for the damage that viruses in our bodies cause. It helps in deducting symptoms and provides relief. Hot foods, such as peppers and sauces, contain an ingredient called capsaicin. Capsaicin is known as a great pain reliever and is even used topically for neuropathy pain. Studies show that hot peppers can also boost your immune system. Basically, it helps in warding off germs that can cause illness.
Also Read: 8 Easy Home Remedies for Weight Loss
Prevent Heart Diseases
Not only this but Spicy food can help in preventing you from heart diseases too. Hot and spicy food leaves a burning effect. Spicy food like Hot peppers gets its heating property from a substance called capsaicinoids. Researches show that capsaicinoids help in keeping your blood cholesterol levels low. It also prevents blood vessels from constricting. This ultimately results in improving your blood flow. This helps you in preventing high blood pressure issues.
Helps in healing Cold and Flu
Next time whenever you catch a cold or flu, considering having a bowl of hot and sour soup. Spicy food can be a great way killing of your germs and solve your respiratory problems.
Study shows that spicy food helps in easing congested nasal passages. It also helps in improving breathing problems from bronchitis, and relieves flu symptoms, too. But this doesn’t mean that all the food items spicy in nature can help you out. Some might worsen the situation. So, it’s very important to know that what food items can help you out. In case of cold or flu, try chilli peppers, horseradish, or wasabi when you’re under the weather.
This shows that spicy food can actually help you in boosting your immunity and push you towards a healthy lifestyle. Though you might find it difficult to add spice to your regular meals if you are not habitual to it. Hence, consider adding this habit to your routine gradually. So, what is stopping you from spicing up your food?
