The hot sauce diet
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CNN House Call ran a story over the weekend about the “Hot Sauce Dietâ€.
Dr. Spiro Antoniades weighed 265 lbs. He wanted to punish himself for eating poorly. He decided he’d do a shot of hot sauce before meals.
He lost 70 lbs.
His theory is he attached pain to bad food, which made him avoid bad food.
Clifford Woolf of Harvard Medical School said:
“One of the major features of pain is to learn to avoid danger. And by taking a swig of Tabasco, you’re switching on that avoidance mechanism.â€
I don’t agree with the theory.
If hot sauce = pain, then why do people like spicy food? Or are they all masochists?
The burning sensation is from capsaicin – a chemical in the hot sauce. It’s believed capsaicin increases calorie and fat burning.
Capsaicin is in numerous pain relief products.
Research also has shown it:
- Lowers blood pressure
- Lowers cholesterol
- Kills cancer cells without harming healthy cells
- Lowers insulin after a meal
- Has reversed diabetes in mice
Spice it up.
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February 6th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I don’t agree with the theory of the HOT leads to avoidance. (If this was true why was capsaicin (peppers) the worlds fastest spreading spice in history. All cultures use it in one way or another and can be grown in most climates, dries well and is easily stored for long periods of time.) I feel that you are creating a new addiction. Capsaicin is addictive. It releases natural pain relieving endorphins. You get a real response from your body from sweating to your nose running and INCREASED METABOLISIM! It will also help you eat less by triggering these responses your hunger is temporarily turned off and you eat less. You’re not avoiding your junk food your switching the addiction. The hotter the food the greater the release of endorphins. Hot sauce and peppers have been used for hundreds of years to help hide the flavor of rancid food SO PEOPLE COULD EAT older food that was not yet bad but may have say smelled off. So my theory would be eating fresh food, low carbs, and lean meats along with hot sauce or peppers. The shot of hot sauce before the meal will help you eat your vegetables if you do not like them and help you drink more water. So if anything this doctor just needs to be better informed of the food he eats and stop eating the junk food.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
hey Tim,
Thanks for your comment. Your website is ummm, eye-catching. Really, really nice.
I’ve had two of your sauces before - they have a nice kick.
I like your comment about rancid smelling food.
As well, a number of “hot” spices, heat the blood and the immune system which in turn allows your own defenses to take care of lower level viruses and bacteria.
One of the recommended alternative treatments for flus and colds is Cayenne pepper (active ingredient capsaisin). A number of years ago I was coming down hard with a “bug” a couple days after a coast-to-coast flight (trapped in an airplane with sneezing, hacking people).
I shuffled off to a local natural food store and grabbed a bottle of cayenne capsules and downed as many as and as often as my stomach would tolerate - with the help of ginger. Never before had I blown through a flu/cold so quickly. Far more effective than the options at the pharmacy.
Capsaicin is a “counterirritant”. When used for pain, it works by stimulating nerves to release a large amount of “substance P” - a pain causing chemical. It depletes the supply of substance P, which is not replenished quickly. Hence, relief from P, relief from pain.
As you pointed out - all cultures have used peppers and hot spices for centuries… and without dreadful side effects we’ve come to know and (unfortunately) accept from prescription drugs.
Tested and proven for centuries in the laboratory of live.