Comments on: Challenging eating

By: Cyde Weys

Cyde Weys — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 18:49:26 +0000

Darmok, you may have a point that, although capsaicin itself doesn’t cause heartburn, other typical ingredients in spicy foods do. Still, that makes it inaccurate to say “Don’t eat spicy foods,” because you could take some normal steamed vegetables, add a chopped habanero pepper (something I am wont to do), and end up with an extremely spicy dish that nevertheless doesn’t cause any sort of heartburn.

By: Darmok

Darmok — Thu, 31 May 2007 03:56:07 +0000

What evidence do you have that spicy foods are not associated with heartburn? It is incorrect to state that capsaicin has no other effects aside from stimulating neurons to produce a burning sensation; among other areas, it's being researched as an anti-cancer agent (see, for example, the Wikipedia entry). It is also a fallacy to assert that simply because the chemical responsible for spiciness supposedly has no other effects, that spicy foods cannot have other effects. While spicy foods probably aren't a risk factor for causing heartburn, for those that already have heartburn, there is decent evidence that spicy foods can exacerbate it. People who have problems with heartburn should probably try to avoid spicy foods. (See, for instance, the Mayo Clinic page.)

By: Maelos

Maelos — Thu, 10 May 2007 23:19:18 +0000

I love spicy foods! For some reason though I am not a fan of chunky salsa…anyway it was a nice read. If you are able, I would try to find your way into a Japanese or Chinese family style, or better yet, family dinner. The closer you are to your friends, especially those of foreign descent, the more likely they will treat you to the true spices of their culture. I was once told that many meals are downgraded because our American tastes would not be able to handle it. Well thats just some food for thought.