Did you know that when you consume hot sauce or spicy peppers, your mouth feels on fire because of a substance called capsaicin? The membrane that protects the seeds is where capsaicin is mainly located. These plants originated in the Americas, and Christopher Columbus brought them to Europe after mistaking them for a black pepper-related plant. Pure capsaicin is a naturally found phytochemical that gives chilies their heat and has important health advantages. Capsaicin and several similar alkaloids, collectively known as capsaicinoids, are generated by chili peppers as secondary metabolites, likely acting as inhibitors against certain animals and fungi. This compound is found in different foods like peppers and has various advantages.
How does Capsaicin work?
Whenever you eat any hot pepper, you would feel a heat-like sensation, but if you put a thermometer in your mouth to check whether the temperature is high or not, you will notice that the temperature is the same. Unbelievably, even the spiciest peppers don’t get that hot. They set off pain signals in your tongue and mouth, which causes the brain to receive a signal that it interprets as heat. This sensation of heat is the body’s method of forcing you to consume food or liquids to soothe the irritation caused by capsaicin.
What foods have capsaicin in them?
While cinnamon includes a very slight amount of capsaicin and peppers are the plants with the highest concentration, other plants also contain traces of the compound. Oregano and cilantro, among other herbs, contain a small quantity of capsaicin but not enough to give them a spicy flavor.
Benefits of capsaicin
- High antioxidant-content foods, like spicy peppers, may help your body fight free radicals. Promoting chronic inflammation by free radicals may raise your chance of developing diseases, including cancer, autoimmune disorders, and heart disease.
- Capsaicin is occasionally used to treat pain. It functions by igniting your pain receptors, which lessens your sensitivity to discomfort. It is most frequently used in topical painkillers like Capzacin-Z, Menthacin, and Zostrix.
- The most well-known advantage of capsaicin is its capacity to promote fat or weight reduction. Your metabolism, which is the process of converting the food and liquids you consume into energy that your body can utilize for daily activities, significantly impacts your weight. Supplements containing capsaicin may increase your metabolism, making it easier for you to burn fat and lose weight. By increasing oxygen consumption and body temperature, capsaicin causes a slight rise in calorie expenditure.
Dosage for capsaicin intake
Capsaicin may not be present in food sources in sufficient quantities to deliver all of its potential advantages. As a result, individuals take pills since they contain more capsaicin. Although dosages differ, several researchers employ 2–6 mg of capsaicin daily. Cayenne pepper is the primary active component in most supplements since it tends to be rich in capsaicin. Usually, each capsule contains 500 milligrams of cayenne pepper. You need to consume two to five 500 mg capsules of cayenne pepper to get 2 to 6 mg capsaicin because cayenne pepper has around 2.5 mg capsaicin per gram.
Conclusion
Pure capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their spice or heat, will burn any area of skin or other tissues it comes into contact with. As a result, if a chef rubs their eyes after handling sliced chili peppers, the capsaicin in their hands will burn, so it is advised that while using this compound, one needs to be very careful.