New medical research demonstrates that capsaicin, the substance that makes hot chiles taste spicy, helps protect the stomach from diseases like gastritis by controlling the bacterium helicobacter pylori. In a study headed by South Korean Prof. Lee Yong-chan of Yonsei University, stomach cells of patients with the bacterium were injected with a variety of dosages of capsaicin concentrate. The findings indicate that the higher the capsaicin level, the more effective it was in reducing stomach inflammation, said Prof. Lee.
The findings will be published next month in an actual medical journal called Helicobacter.
All of this bodes well for my present habit of consuming whole, pickled jalapenos.
