Have a love of spicy foods? Does the thought of fire-roasted jalapenos make you salivate? Maybe you’re more of a fan of habaneros, or you might be a “heat seeker” and search out the hottest peppers in the world, like the Trinidad scorpion or the Carolina Reaper. Regardless, what you’re actually in love with is a pair of chemicals – pure capsaicin and dihydro capsaicin. Together, these phyto chemicals make up about 90% of the taste, flavor and heat in a hot pepper.
What Do They Do?
Both pure capsaicin and dihydro capsaicin are powerful chemicals that offer more than just a sensory explosion when you bite into a hot pepper or eat a spicy dish made with peppers. They actually work on the body in a number of ways. For instance, initially, they work as antagonists – irritants that make your mouth scream for water. Your brain responds by unleashing a flood of dopamine and other chemicals. The result? You start to feel good. You’re relaxed and enjoying yourself. Some people even say they feel euphoric.
There are other things that capsaicin and dihydro capsaicin do in the body. For instance, they’re transformed from irritants into anti-inflammatory agents. This means that despite those old wives’ tales that eating spicy foods will upset your stomach or cause heartburn, you actually benefit from less inflammation in the stomach and the intestines. To some extent, this effect ranges through the entire body, although it is minimal.
Their Use in Medicine
Both capsaicin and dihydro capsaicin have been heavily researched and studied for their use in the medical world, and they’ve been put to numerous innovative uses. For instance, capsaicin is the active ingredient in many topical creams and ointments used to help provide pain relief for those suffering from multiple forms of arthritis, as well as muscle pain. It is also used to treat neuropathy pain in diabetics and HIV patients.
Interestingly, capsaicin and dihydro capsaicin are being heavily researched for their use as a treatment for diabetics. Rats have shown very positive effects after being injected with pure capsaicin and dihydro capsaicin, including better glucose and insulin levels. With that being said, neither chemical has been approved for treating diabetes in humans yet, and there is still a lot of research to do in this area.
Both pure capsaicin and dihydro capsaicin show promise in the treatment of human cancer, as well. It seems that these chemicals are able to disrupt the cellular membrane of cancer cells, leading to cell death. This stops tumor growth, and can actually shrink them. These results were discovered in laboratory testing with mice, as well as harvested human skin cancer cells. However, as with potential treatments for diabetes, pure capsaicin and dihydro capsaicin have not been approved for any form of cancer treatment in humans as of yet.
With all of that being said, the sheer potential for these spicy food components is mind-boggling. To think that the substance that sets your mouth afire can also help to beat cancer is truly astounding.