Nothing hurts quite like an ulcer.
The pain often comes out of nowhere and can be debilitating. Sometimes, it’s so bad that sufferers need to sit down until the pain has passed.
If you’ve ever had one, it goes without saying that you would give up anything to make the pain stop. Fortunately, despite popular opinion, this does not mean you have to give up your favorite spicy foods.
What Is an Ulcer?
Let’s begin by talking about what is ulcer actually is. Sufficed to say, if you have one, you’d definitely know it.
However, some of you may be reading this because you’ve heard of the connection between getting an ulcer and spicy food and your love of the latter makes you worried about contracting the former.
Ulcers are sores that form on the lining of the stomach. They are notorious for being extremely painful and people who have them will sometimes unconsciously grab their sides when they flare up simply from the sudden discomfort.
The problem with ulcers is that, despite how common and painful they are, scientists still don’t fully understand them.
What Causes an Ulcer?
Spicy food most likely isn’t to blame in the least. We’ll talk about why there’s a correlation between the two in a moment, though, as this is still helpful to understand.
What scientists know for certain is that ulcers are caused by an imbalance between digestive fluids found in the stomach and the first part of the small intestine, which is known as the duodenum.
Most ulcers are also formed with the help of a specific kind of bacteria called helicobacter pylori.
The sores that this bacteria and imbalance cause create a persistent burning pain that usually occurs somewhere between the middle and upper stomach. It makes sense that they strike after meals as this is when the stomach is using acid to break down the food.
For many people, it’s at night when their ulcers begin flaring up, which can easily keep them from getting to bed.
Other symptoms include bloating, nausea, heartburn and vomiting.
Although it’s rare, a severe case may also involve vomiting blood, dark stool (from bleeding), intense pain in the mid to upper abdomen and weight loss.
A lot of times, ulcers heal by themselves. That’s no reason to ignore their warning signs, though. If you have or are currently experiencing any of the above, make sure you speak with a doctor right away, just to be safe. They can also prescribe you medicine to get you out of pain.
If you let a serious ulcer go on for too long, you could eventually suffer perforation, which is a tear in the wall of your stomach. Another potential consequence is gastric outlet obstruction caused by scarring and/or swelling that blocks the passage that leads from your stomach to the small intestine.
No, You Won’t Get an Ulcer from Spicy Food
Evidence of why many people still think you can get an ulcer from spicy food is right in the name. Peptic ulcer comes from the root words for “open sore” and “acid.” Therefore, when the name was first given to this ailment, it’s because that’s what people assumed was happening. This was long before the modern era of medicine.
Nonetheless, it made sense, back then, to blame an ulcer on spicy food. After all, the sensation of eating these dishes felt like your mouth was on fire and the pain from having an ulcer had the same seething effect, so it made sense.
The funny thing is that there is now evidence that suggests that if you have an ulcer, spicy food may actually help with treating it.
Why You Should Treat Your Ulcer with Spicy Food
Obviously, you should follow whatever direction your doctor gives you regarding your ulcer. Spicy food has proven to have multiple benefits, but you shouldn’t dismiss a medical professional’s advice, either.
One of the first signs that ulcers weren’t caused by spicy foods was from a study of people in Singapore. It found that those who ate a fairly bland Chinese diet were three times more likely to suffer from ulcers than those who ate the notoriously spicy Taiwanese cuisine.
Far more interesting, though, is that the active ingredient in chili peppers – that is, the compound that gives it its famous kick – may actually be part of the solution for ulcers.
Numerous studies have been done on both animals and people with the results showing that capsaicin can actually aid in digestion, meaning chili peppers have the exact opposite effect they’re so often blamed for.
Over time, reoccurring exposure to capsaicin has been shown to offer a number of benefits, one of which is that it may weaken visceral noiceptive C-type fibers. It’s these fibers that are largely responsible for pain during digestion.
Take, for example, a study done on people with dyspepsia. This is better known as heartburn. They were given 2.5 grams of red pepper powder to be taken every day for five weeks.
However, within just three weeks, subjects began reporting that their symptoms had become as much as 60% less painful. They felt full sooner (this could help with indigestion by keeping portion sizes smaller) and those who suffered from nausea because of their heartburn saw rates and degree of this symptom drop, too.
This carries over to ulcers, as well. One culprit that has been proven to cause these painful sores is aspirin taken over long periods of time. Doing so can cause gastric mucosa, which then leads to these sores.
In one study, healthy individuals were given 600 mg of aspirin with 20 grams of capsaicin-rich chili. When endoscopies were done, they showed that the capsaicin protected people’s stomachs from gastric injuries that otherwise occurred.
The good news here is that, if you have an ulcer, but spicy foodjust isn’t your thing, you can still benefit from capsaicin. There are now pills you can take that deliver this important compound without the feeling of your mouth being on fire at the same time.
If you have an ulcer, spicy food is definitely not to blame. Go see a doctor, but also consider taking chili powder to help alleviate the pain.