Every
time my friends and I went to restaurant, I must order spicy food and one small
dish of chili sauce. That because eating spicy food can not only keep healthy
but also make me refreshing. My friends are shocked on my enthusiasm on spicy
food. So, they gave me a nickname: “pepper oil” which can reflect my favorite
taste, as well as my food values.
In
recent decades, more and more people start accepting and having spicy food. According
to a report, “overall spice consumption in the U.S. rose by 107 percent between
1983 and 2003 to 947.9 million pounds, or 3.3 pounds per person, according to
the U.S. Department of Agriculture” (Karen Robinson-Jacobs). Like those people
who are falling in love with spicy food, I love it for reasons. To be
specifically, I found that I started to lose weight when I took more portion of
spicy food in my daily meal. I did some research that showed spicy food could
help metabolism, as well as losing weight. Moreover, I found many more benefits
of taking spicy food according to my research, such as fighting cancer, drying
dampness and cooling heart in the body.
The
fat people will ask if any foods help burn off calories, my answer is to eat hot
and spicy foods. I found there are so many researchers did surveys which prove that
“eating hot, spicy foods such as mustard and hot peppers can speed metabolism,
burning off calories” (Jean Carper). A British researcher did a test to prove that
average metabolism in 12 subjects to shoot up 25 percent, burning off 45 extra
calories in the next three hours if you add about three-fifths of a teaspoon of
hot sauce to a meal. The result displayed the “hot sauce caused one person to
burn off 76 calories – or 10 percent of the calories in a 776-calories meal” (Jean
Carper). A new Australian study indicated that the hot and spicy taste in
ginger may promote metabolism. The biochemists used animals to do the text
which shows that the spicy included tissues to use up about 20 percent more
energy than normally. Personally, my figure can be keep so nice depended on I
like eating hot and spicy food I considered.
What’s
more, there is a piece of dramatic news shocked me a lot because the
vanilloids in the hot and spicy food could provide compound to fight cancers.
The news which showed that “the compound was made by spicy food hot and
generates the heat in muscle strain remedies could be the key to a new
generation of cancer drugs, which kill tumours with no side effects, a leading
scientist has said” (Chemical Business Newsbase). Dr Timothy Bates, a medical
scientist, use part of food compounds called vanilloids, was a regular part of
the diet all over the world could help people overcome the problems of
anti-cancer. In my opinion, I am so happy that the scientists who did the technical
study on food which is the common part of our life.
Moreover,
I will talk about the spicy food in Hunan province which is in southeastern
China is largely influenced by the spicy cuisine of Sichuan city because people
eat a lot of hot and spicy food to keep healthy. Otherwise, Hunan or Xiang food
is hotter and spicier than that of its western neighbor. “The reason for this
is Hunan climate is excessively hot and humid, and eating hot peppers is
recommended to dry dampness and cool heat in the body” (Tan Bee Hong). When I
was first come to Hunan province, I could not adapt to the humid climate, and
my joints were painful. I told my friends how I did not like here when we met
in a luxury hotel at night. My friends just smiled and told me the food in the
hotel could remit my pain. We sited around a big table to talk about the Hunan
food which is characterised by its hot and sour flavours, fresh natural aromas
and deep colors. When the waitress came with dishes, you can see the red curd
and pepper in the dish first, and then the fragrance also makes you become more
appetitive. It was surprised because I felt better after we ate together. My
friend told me people in this area always ate the spicy food to keep healthy after
finding the piquancy can dispel the dampness in people’s body. For me, I
respect the humanity and culture in this area because people can live better
depend on their custom.
As
we all know, Thai food is the spiciest all over the world. I went to Thailand
two years ago, I found that if you are eating at a Thai restaurant, they can
usually moderate or increase the spicy on request. The reason why they did this
is to suit each customer’s taste and you may find yourself learning to enjoy it
overtime. Many Thais believe that hot and spicy food has some healthy benefits.
Certainly it can clear out the sinuses, and “chilies can also help to boost the
immune system and fight off illnesses, and have been shown to improve
cardiovascular health” (S.E. Smith). In Thailand, using
heavy spices to keep meats and fish fresh is regular because the chilies will
stave off rot. The reason why people in many hot climates have the spicy food
to prevent food borne illness and travelers with minimal hygienic practices
will eat spicy foods along with the locals is the chilies will prevent
uncomfortable intestinal symptoms, and the chilies can kill organisms which
cause food borne illness. Otherwise, the spicy food in Thailand is a part of
traditional delicious culinary. You can learn how to appreciate the dishes, and
increase the spices in your orders so that you can like the spicy food in the
restaurant if you ask the cooks to reduce the spices. The most excited thing is
that “it will also allow you to win chili pepper eating contests, a valuable
skill in some nations” (S.E. Smith).
Furthermore,
I am an international student in Denver, and I found that almost every
restaurant would provide chili sauce. Chili sauce would be putted on the table.
You even could ask the waiters to serve some if there is no hot and chili sauce
on the table. I went to several cities in America. Similarly, the chili sauce
is available in most restaurants too. Depend on my research, an academic
resource mentioned that “Within the broad spice grouping, the fiery flavorings
are red hot: Imports of dried capsicum peppers, a class that includes long red
chiles and cayenne peppers, rose by 869 percent to 155 million pounds in that
same period, the USDA said” (Karen Robinson-Jacobs). That means the chili
became more and more important in America, and the citizens can appreciate the
taste of spicy from all over the world. The data from the USDA indicated that
the spicy food become more and more acceptable and popular not only in America
but also in most countries.
On
the other hand, I get some information which indicated that spicy foods will
give people nightmares. Dr. Virgil Wooten who is a spokesman for the American
Sleep Disorders Association said that “peppers and spices derived from peppers
can stimulate more gastric acid and relax the valve at the top of your stomach,
which can allow food to work its way up the esophagus when lying down” (Ad
Hudler). The reason why people think bad dreams are created by spicy food is it
can create discomfort, which leads to imperfect sleep I considered. But there
is no certain evidence to prove that people eat spicy food can give people
nightmares. I ate a lot spicy food for several years, and I never had a disease
of my stomach. My best advice is to eat spicy food and other food regular. Do
not eat and drink anything closer than three to four hours before bedtime.
Generally
speaking, having spicy food would bring both negative and positive effects to
human health. As the resources I mentioned above, spicy food could speed metabolism
and burn calories. More importantly, the vanilloids in the hot and spicy food
could provide compound to fight cancers. Otherwise, people in Hunan province
eat spicy food to dispel the dampness in their body because of the pluvial
period and the humid climate. Besides, I cannot forget the attractive spicy
food in Thailand, which is depended on their humanity and culture. Also, as an
international student in the USA, I can appreciate the spicy food from all over
the world. It is amazing to have a long journey to eat all kinds of spicy food
there. As I mentioned above, people cannot get any disease from eating spicy
food if you eat spicy food and other food regular. So, I decided to keep this
eating habit. Moreover, I would like to encourage my friends to take more spicy
food for keeping healthy.
In
a word, eating spicy food can keep healthy. I will encourage my friends to eat
spicy food and I wish the spicy food as well as the spicy derivant polished by
the scientists can give people more and more benefits.
Work
sited
Jean
Carper, and Columnist. "SPICY HOT FOODS RAISE
METABOLISM: FINAL Edition." Seattle Post - Intelligencer: c.1. Print.
1993.
"Spicy
Food could Provide Compound to Fight Cancers." Chemical Business
Newsbase (2007): 1. Print.
Tan
Bee Hong. "Spicy Hunan: 2 Edition."
New Straits Times: 24. Print. 2003.
S.E.
Smith. “Why is Thai Food so Spicy?” 2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation. 16 May
2012
