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Journalism of Courage
Chillies are a great aid for invigorating the digestive process. When crushed in the mouth, they stimulate the taste buds and this in turn results in an increased flow of salivary juices, which help in breaking down the starch in the food.
Gastric emptying is also improved with capsaicin. Scientific data shows that this happens because the sensory nerves regulating the stomach movements are capsaicin sensitive. Some weeks ago I had mentioned how chillies were actually helpful in reducing acid production.
Chillies have been touted as relievers of the symptoms of a cold since they clear the nasal passages of the watery discharges. When crushed in the mouth, they help in dilating the airways and have the potential to reduce asthma and wheezing.
The story is seemingly endless. Chillies have a reasonable content of the antioxidants connected with Vitamin C and Vitamin A, with the actual amounts varying with the varieties and species. Chillies have a high Folic acid content. One green chilli has approx 10 micrograms of Folic acid, which is one tenth of the daily requirement. Thus eating chillies does reduce the levels of homocysteine, whose presence is acknowledged as a risk factor for heart disease.
The ayurvedic system has included chillies in their prescriptions to ward off many diseases. In recent times, there is data to show that chillies have the potential to rev up the metabolism to some extent, which is why eating them could help burn more calories and help stay slim! Finally, a word of caution. It will be wise to take moderate amounts of chilli in the diet and to prefer the green or fresh chillies to the dried ones.
nsingh.rxpress@expressindia.com
