I'm certainly no expert but I do remember reading on more than one occasion that capsicum/hot peppers are used to treat ulcers on/or bad stomachs. I'm sure that those more in the know will chime-in.

Greg
Nevada

The capsicum not only drives up your immune system, but also helps with other ailments as well. Google it. Now if you are a rube who takes habs and rubs them on sensititive body parts....ya may be dangerous.

I've heard it all before myself and I've done some research.

Hot peppers are beneficial for many ailments, and are especially useful for beating the heat, ironically enough. It induces sweating.

It's been seen to help prevent heart disease in some people.

It's being explored for use in treating forms of type 1 diabetes, prostate cancer, and as a method of pain relief.

It can actually be used to block the signals of pain sensations in nerves, apparently.

Look up Capsaicin (the chemical in hot peppers that causes the heat) on wikipedia. It's actually quite impressive.

But as far as hurting you goes. Some people may be very sensitive to the burning/pain sensation and could be injured by incredibly hot peppers. I've heard of people going to the hospital over it from the pain they got in their stomach. Whether it's truly the case or not, I don't know. IMO, there's no fear.

If you are on Blood Thinners let the Doctor know you are eating hot stuff.
During harvest I don't have to do as much Coumadin as when I'm not eating Chile Peppers every day.
I'd rather eat Peppers than Coumadin but hot Peppers just don't thin my blood enough by themselves.
Same goes for Garlic and a few other things.
Some stuff thins the blood,others have Vitamin K in it and counteract the blood thinners...

Curanderos in Mexico use chile to cure all kinds of stuff, including digestion problems.

It also works great for allergies, I'm not joking. I had a case of bad allergies and no mater what I took ,claritin included, it would give me relief for maybe 5 minutes. I ate an orange habenero and instantly no more sneezing, runny nose and I could finally enjoy my dinner. It lasted for around 12 hours, then I ate a 1/4 habanero and the allergies didn't return.

Be careful when eating these peppers as they are very hot to most people. If you want to give them a try, I suggest eating them with food and be sure to have a large glass of milk ready.

Yogurt works far better than milk.

I recommend half a sandwich about 30-45 minutes before the super hot pepper, and then the other
half about 30 minutes later. This helps with the "morning after" heat....

Josh

Never thought about yogurt, I'll give it a try.

Thanks Josh

Ron

Check this out: http://home.howstuffworks.com/peppers3.htm

they say that it cause stomach problems yet they cannot prove it,from what i know there are more benifits to eating hot peppers, it is true how ever if you have a serious underlying problem it might irritate it but odds may be against it, they do use them for digestive troubles, the indians use the bhut jolokia and they dont get any hotter than those!!

hope this helps

thanks your friend ajijoe

I know many people who cannot eat ketchup, including my wife. She also cannot eat the Swiss Chalet sauce and a number of other things, they cause digestive upset.
She has an underlying health issue.
My family in Trinidad have been growing and eating RAW Trinidad peppers and accompanying pepper sauce multiple times DAILY (including breakfast) their whole lives.
It's not the peppers. The benefits of Capsaicin is only now being scientifically validated, the Indian's and othe cultures knew it all along - IT IS ONE OF NATURE'S WONDER FOODS. Everyone should be eating it.

Hope this helps.

Ravi

Hey, some people are more inclined to various forms of, let's be polite, gastric and intestinal distress. Listen to your own body. Listen to your doctor. If eating hot peppers makes you hurt, and it's not the enjoyable type of pain, then don't eat them. And if you want to eat fugu topped with puree of bhut jolokia, that's your decision, your business, your problem. I bet the in-laws are using the hot pepper sauce as a way to vent; there's something else that irks them, but they can't/won't talk about it, so they yank your chain about the "Death by Flaming Toilet of Doom" sauce. If you want to play nice, make your own custom label to cover the hot sauce label. Tell them it's homemade French dressing. ;->

I have GERD. The specialist was concerned that I had an ulcer, at 27. He checked me out more thoroughly than I care to remember. I spent a year on the doctor-prescribed bland diet and little purple pills. The food was so boring I lost weight. As I got healthier I started adding foods back into my diet. Found out that I had food allergies on top of a leaky stomach valve. But as long as I don't jog or do headstands afterwards, I can eat peppers as hot as my taste buds can handle. With no heartburn.

How hot is that? Those of you nursed on capsaicin will laugh. I grew up on a non-spicy New England diet and I'm still adjusting my palate. My mom kept an ancient bottle of hot sauce in the cupboard, but never so much as opened it. I was out at a restaurant with her once and she ordered a Cajun dish the waitress said was "very mild." She ate exactly one bite, drank two glasses of water, and ordered a different meal. I was in high school when I found out salsa wasn't just a dance, and had my first taste of chile pepper. At this point I keep a shaker of chipotle flakes and another of chipotle powder on hand, and apply them to anything that needs them. My boyfriend can't eat my spicy greens (chards and chiles) and won't even try my pretty "Fish" peppers. They're the perfect single-serving-size pepper for me.

-Edie

Hi most of the info that you need to hear has been said, I have been eating hot peppers since I was 14 I'm now 58 and have never had any ulcers or other stomach problems other than some of the unpleasent after effects from the foods that I ate along with the peppers and a variety of sauces.
I eat very few of the really hot ones now, due to my use of pain killers that mess with my stomach, although I often go over board with my Ghost pepper powder that has other dried hot and sweet peppers in it, mainly just to use them up to. My brother who is 54 and his son love Naga peppers and some of the other super hot peppers, my brother has noticed that his blood sugar is more stable when he eats them. I also use a pain salve that has capscium in it and it does help some with the pain. So I guess there is some good that comes from eating and using pepper based products. As a closing note My late step father was German and he wouldn't touch a hot pepper and would often kid me about eating them, also much of my family don't eat them either.
George W. Z5-6 MO.

I think the dairy products people use to chase the burn is harder on the stomach than the peppers themselves. If you have an existing problem the burn is painful, but I doubt it's doing any physical damage.

Those that don't eat hot peppers because of stomach or digestion problems would probably not have those problems had they eaten more hot peppers when they were younger.

THANKS! You guys/gals are great and entertaining as well. I've always knew all along about some of the benefits of capscaicin but now a little more thanks to your posts here.