Over the years there have been many different views on the effects that regular chillie consumption can have on the the human body. Here we try to pick through he research to see if indeed the humble chillie is good for us.

Effects on blood sugar

Researchers at the University of Tasmania have recently completed a study (published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July 2006) that suggests the regular consumption of chillies can help your body control insulin levels after eating which could benefit the overweight or diabetics. To be more precise the chillie reduces the amount of insulin the body needs to lower blood sugar levels after a meal by up to about 60%.

During the study candidates that followed a diet high in chillie content had lower blood glucose levels than that for a bland, chilliless diet. The author of the study Kiran Ahuja said “Chilli meals possibly result in lower C-peptide and insulin secretion and higher hepatic clearance of insulin, and the effect is larger if chilli is eaten regularly.”

Although scientists are still trying to understand exactly why this effect occurs the results of the study are surely good news for the overweight and diabetes sufferers.

Inflammation

Capsaicin, the substance that give chilies their heat is well known to contain a neuropeptide associated with the inflammatory process. Chilli related alterations