3 ms·

some kind of correlation effect, perhaps? my speculation: eating more chili peppers is associated (positively) with a more varied and nutritious diet

rectangletangle 10y ago
This is what I suspect. There's pretty clear evidence that most American's don't eat nearly enough roughage. Peppers count as roughage, and are often paired with other healthy/fresh items. Similar correlations have been found with avocados. Avocados aren't particularly healthy when compared to other fruits and vegetables (not to say that they're unhealthy), however eating avocados correlates with better overall dietary quality. Generally if you're buying more expensive fresh vegetables, you're probably eating that in place of unhealthy processed foods. Indigestible dietary fiber also helps regulate "fullness." Seeing as the stomach is filled with largely indigestible fiber, instead of high-calorie digestible carbohydrates, it takes far fewer calories to feel full. The work the digestive system has to do in order to break down the roughage also helps mitigate blood glucose levels, by preventing rapid spikes. If one were to eat just carbs, their readily digestible nature allows the energy to immediately be absorbed. However, the pairing with vegetables slows down the absorption of the carbs, by forcing the digestive system to work on the vegetables in addition to the carbs. Now this isn't to say carbohydrates are bad, but they shouldn't make up the majority of ones dietary volume.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  This is a great comment. I particularly agree that people eating real peppers are probably eating other healthy things. Really important to capture all these incidental things that exist in the group one is studying to see if it's actually those having the effect. We also know that many foods they might be buying fresh have direct health benefits. Naturally, I wonder if if the peppers's benefits, the big ones, are just incidental on top of the type of people eating them or their other food intake.
0xcde4c3db 10y ago
My favorite speculation: eating more chili peppers is associated with reduced sensitivity to pain in general, which leads to lower stress, lower inflammation, and greater physical activity (greater tolerance of muscle soreness and injury risk). There's way more variation in pain sensitivity than most people realize. Seriously, though, I would expect that the biggest correlation is to ethnic/regional cuisine (particularly southwestern US and Mexican), which I'm not convinced moves the "healthy lifestyle" needle in any particular direction.
- battlebot 10y ago
  I bet taking a few months off from work would also lead to most of those things.

rectangletangle 10y ago

This is what I suspect. There's pretty clear evidence that most American's don't eat nearly enough roughage. Peppers count as roughage, and are often paired with other healthy/fresh items. Similar correlations have been found with avocados. Avocados aren't particularly healthy when compared to other fruits and vegetables (not to say that they're unhealthy), however eating avocados correlates with better overall dietary quality. Generally if you're buying more expensive fresh vegetables, you're probably eating that in place of unhealthy processed foods. Indigestible dietary fiber also helps regulate "fullness." Seeing as the stomach is filled with largely indigestible fiber, instead of high-calorie digestible carbohydrates, it takes far fewer calories to feel full. The work the digestive system has to do in order to break down the roughage also helps mitigate blood glucose levels, by preventing rapid spikes. If one were to eat just carbs, their readily digestible nature allows the energy to immediately be absorbed. However, the pairing with vegetables slows down the absorption of the carbs, by forcing the digestive system to work on the vegetables in addition to the carbs. Now this isn't to say carbohydrates are bad, but they shouldn't make up the majority of ones dietary volume.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
This is a great comment. I particularly agree that people eating real peppers are probably eating other healthy things. Really important to capture all these incidental things that exist in the group one is studying to see if it's actually those having the effect. We also know that many foods they might be buying fresh have direct health benefits. Naturally, I wonder if if the peppers's benefits, the big ones, are just incidental on top of the type of people eating them or their other food intake.

0xcde4c3db 10y ago

My favorite speculation: eating more chili peppers is associated with reduced sensitivity to pain in general, which leads to lower stress, lower inflammation, and greater physical activity (greater tolerance of muscle soreness and injury risk). There's way more variation in pain sensitivity than most people realize. Seriously, though, I would expect that the biggest correlation is to ethnic/regional cuisine (particularly southwestern US and Mexican), which I'm not convinced moves the "healthy lifestyle" needle in any particular direction.

battlebot 10y ago
I bet taking a few months off from work would also lead to most of those things.