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Are Chili Peppers Good For You?

Do chili peppers promote or protect against stomach inflammation?

May 19, 2011 |
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Supplementary Info

Are Chili Peppers Good For You?, 5.0 out of 5 based on 2 ratings

Sources Cited

Arbor Nutrition. Are hot chilli peppers good for you? Clinical Nutrition Updates. (Apr); 275:1-4.2007

Acknowledgements

Transcript

Endorphins are wonderful things, but there’s been longstanding concern that chili pepper ingestion may cause stomach inflammation, which could lead to bleeding, stomach cancer—but only recently have we started to get some good data. Are chili peppers bad for us, neither good nor bad, or good for us?
Are chili peppers good for you? You betcha. If fact they even prevent stomach irritation. Check this out: you give a drug like ibuprofen and you can burn a hole through your stomach and start bleeding internally, but the more chilies, the less bleeding, the more stomach lining protection. The balance of evidence suggests chili peppers may actually prevent cancer and ironically have an anti-inflammatory role within the body. Chili peppers are health-promoting foods.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

For some context, please check out my associated blog post: Soymilk: shake it up!

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/RobertEdmands/ Robert Edmands

    I’ve been growing and eating these things for years. Their healthfulness is no secret. Vitamin C and Capsicum are the bomb! Who knows what else they contain that has not been quantified? This years crop only included Jalapenos, but in previous years, I’ve had some awesome Habaneros, hot enough to burn your socks off! Mixing them with tomatoes in salsa is a winning combo. “I eat local because I can”- says one of my T-shirts.

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

      Whoa–habaneros are too rich for my blood! But you’re absolutely right about the myriad phytonutrient compounds. And in fact a new study published last month found that they varied widely between peppers so I like your multi-pepper strategy. The more the better!

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/maybush1/ maybush1

    However, I’ve read just the opposite in some instances. Other research has shown strong connections between gastric and skin cancers and chili peppers and capcaicin. See, for example this research:

    http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/139/3/263.short

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100902121057.htm

    Dr. Greger, can you help in clearing up this confusion and debate? Thanks.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/maybush1/ maybush1

    Hi Dr. Greger and thanks for the information. I have a question, however.

    In some instances I’ve read about deleterious results (gastric and skin cancers) from capsaicin and hot peppers. See, for example this research:

    http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/139/3/263.short

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100902121057.htm

    Dr. Greger, can you help in clearing up this confusion and debate? Thank you much and keep up the great work!

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

      I’m so glad you brought that up Maybush! The sciencedaily piece you mentioned just appears to deal with rodents, so you may not want to share any salsa your pet mouse but as a physician rather than veterinarian I have a bias towards human data. The Mexico study you mention did certainly give the medical community pause (when it was performed 20 years ago) but later studies (including data suggesting a cancer-fighting effect) led the most recent reviewers of the subject to conclude chili peppers are safe.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/maybush1/ maybush1

    Great news and great points! Thanks again Dr. Greger.

  • mircea

    hi, dr Gregger, i’m from romania and i have some questions about stomach related issues.. what about gastritis,  acid reflux, helicobacter pylori cure an prevention with
    a plant base diet ? I’m a vegan and i have this problem with my stomach, exception made helicobacter pylori. (I got rid of helicobacter pylori after I began to eat a plant base diet). I need some suggestions on what to eat or maybe some legumes and fruits that reduce gastric acid. thank you very much. (sorry for my bad english)

  • mircea

    Thanks for the reply Mr. Don Forrester. I appreciate it very much !!

  • Katie

    I’d love your insight into nightshades and it’s affect on rheumatoid arthritis. I don’t know to actually avoid them as I’ve been told or if they really aren’t so harmful, as I am a vegan and don’t eat meat, eggs, or dairy. Thank you!

  • Ronald Chavin

    Several studies say that the regular consumption of spicy-hot capsicum peppers (including jalapeno, serrano, habanero, cayenne, chili, tabasco, chipotle, anaheim, pepperoncini, pimientos, and yellow wax/banana peppers, etc.) will approximately double a person’s risk of developing both stomach cancer and liver cancer:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12208187
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12800206
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17365137
    http://www.scgcorp.com/pdf/scg_written_11.pdf

    Chili powder, cayenne powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, and other powdered or dried peppers very frequently contain cancer-causing nitrosamines, aflatoxins, and ochratoxins. However, people who regularly consume fresh garlic, fresh onions, and/or fresh green onions to “spice up” their food will enjoy about a 50% reduction in their overall cancer risk. My best guess is that eating sweet bell peppers is perfectly safe [despite high pesticide residues] and that they will almost certainly help in slightly lowering our cancer risk:
    http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/2012-shoppers-guide-to-pesticides-the-dirty-dozen-clean-15

    In the case of kimchee (pickled cabbage), most of the increased cancer risk can be blamed on the nitrosamines and only part of the increased cancer risk can be blamed on the red pepper flakes:
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-kimchi-good-for-you/

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