Health Benefits of Chillies

The health benefits of consuming chillies

While chilli peppers are great to eat, it is also widely accepted that there are a number of health benefits to consuming them.  On the most basic level we are all aware of the feeling of pleasure, and even euphoria, we get after eating a hot and spicy meal or snack containing chilli.  This is due to the effects of capsaicin, the active chemical component in the chilli pepper.  It is believed that the consumption of capsaicin evokes the pain-stimulated release of the body’s natural endorphins, which are similar to opiates, which are widely used, in strong painkillers such as morphine and codeine, and the illegal drug heroin.

Capsaicin itself is used as a local painkiller in the form of creams and patches that are particularly useful in the treatment of nerve pain, such as that experienced in shingles and some arthritic joint pain.  

Another benefit that is obvious to us all is that of a decongestant. We have all experienced the effects of eating a hot curry when we have been suffering from a heavy cold.  This can simply be by the opening up of swollen nasal passages through heavy breathing and panting, or through the stimulation of excess mucous production, which allows us to have jolly good blow!

It is the pain-relieving and decongestant properties of capsaicin that have led to its use as a relaxant for people suffering from migraine and sinus congestion headaches.

It is also claimed that capsaicin has a role in weight loss and weight control in that, as a thermogenic (heat producing) compound, it increases the bodies metabolic rate which in turn increases the bodies ability to burn fat.  Research suggests that eating chillies can increase the average metabolic rate by around 25% and that this effect can last for several hours.

Less obvious, more significant and therefore more controversial health benefits include be a role in the regulation of blood sugars, cholesterol lowering and anticoagulation.  In this context capsaicin could have benefits in the treatment of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 

It has also been suggests that capsaicin may even have a role in the treatment and prevention of certain cancers.  Observational, epidemiogical studies have demonstrated a potential protective effect against stomach cancer.  Another study has raised the possibility that capsaicin might slow the spread of prostate cancer cells, and thus reduce the growth rate of prostate tumours. 

More research is clearly needed in these areas but the potential medicinal uses for capsicum appear to be far reaching. 

Like everything, "a little of what you fancy does you good" and anything consumed to excess can be harmful.  When consumed to excess capsaicin can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and burning diarrhoea.  If it gets into the eye or on other mucous membranes it can cause extreme pain and irritation.  Capsaicin is, after all, a natural toxin and if consumed in very large doses could theoretically even result in death.

How to dry chillies....

We are frequently asked the best way to dry chillies.  I have considered writing a little blog on how to do this and then a read this article by Scott Roberts,  The Ultimate Guide to Drying Hot Peppers.
Say no more..........

Capsaicinoia Caption Competition!

Capsaicinoia is offering a prize of £20 to spend in our on-line shop to the witty wonder who comes up with the best caption for this photo.  Just what is the customer saying to Mike?  Drop us an email at jackie@capsaicinoia.com

The picture was taken at the Woburn Abbey Garden Show last weekend which was a scorcher in more ways than one.  We were inside the Food and Gift tent and for once we were glad to be indoors as it was very, very hot outside.  Although it was humid indoors we were out of the blazing heat of the sun which was a blessing for our more delicate products such as our Dried Chillies and Chilli Chocolate.

It was an interesting weekend - a very different type of customer than those we generally meet at the chilli festivals.  Most had obviously come for the Garden Show and the Food and Gifts were an unexpected extra.  The average age on the Saturday was slightly higher than usual for a Chilli Event and true chilli fans were rare.  Some people did not even know what a chilli was and many had never even tasted one!  Nevertheless. we met some great people and introduced a few of the more adventurous to the delights of Chilli Chocolate, Beef Jerky and Jerk Sauce and Marinade.

Sunday was even hotter outside and things hotted up a bit inside too.  The Chilli Fans were out and about and we even spotted the odd celebrity, namely the Duke of Bedford himself who stopped for a brief chat, and Ken Hom, who dashed through the tent.  Ken, why didnt you stop?!?  Sales were much better than Saturday and our best sellers were the Chilli Mills, the Chilli Chocolate and again the Trailhead Beef Jerky.

Other highlights for us over the weekend were the Steel Band, the Pimms, the Frozen Yogurt and the privilege of working in the Woburn Abbey Estate which was absolutely fantastic.

Finally, a huge thank you to the Frosts Team who were wonderful!  Friendly, helpful and supportive even to the point of supplying us with rehydration in the form of squash served from a watering can!  A clean one we hope..........as Simon said, no sudden withering or excess hair growth observed after consumption!  Looking forward to working with you guys again over the next couple of weekends at Woburn Sands Chilli Festival and again at Millets Farm.

UK Chilli Festivals

Over the past couple of years the UK has seen a rapid expansion in the number of Chilli Festivals taking place throughout the summer months.  The West Dean Festival is by far the largest with a footfall of around 20,000 people and over 100 stalls.  It has been going since 1995 and now attracts visitors from all over the world, not least to see the 300 different varieties of chillies that are grown in their gardens.  Other large and well-established festivals include Great Dorset and Fiery Foods in Brighton.  Recent newcomers on the scene are the highly successful North East Festival at Seaton Delaval and Eastnor Castle in Ledbury, and several cities are getting in on the act, including Birmingham and Manchester.  This year there have been as many as 25 individual festivals taking place across the country.

Typically a Chilli Festival will involve a multitude of cookery and gardening demonstrations and tastings with the UKs growing number of chilli producers and retailers promoting their wares.  It is truly inspiring in the current economic climate to see the imaginative and creative entrepreneurial spirit that exists in the chili retail community, with young people just starting out and semi-retirees all coming together in their passion for the humble chilli pepper. You can buy hot sauces, chilli jams jellies and chutneys, relishes and marinades, nuts and crisps, chilli chocolate, chilli ice cream, chilli cheese, chilli beers and almost any chilli product you could possibly imagine!

If it gets too hot for you, or you need to cool your mouth down after the tastings, there will always be a beer tent and often local ciders and fruit drinks will be on sale.  Hungry?  Every type of spicy food you fancy will be available from Mexican to Indian and you will sometimes find a Caribbean food stall offering Curry Goat or Jerk Chicken.

All of this is usually taking place to a background of music and entertainment from Rock Bands to Gospel Choirs.  You might even spot the odd foodie celebrity, and ex Masterchef contestants are often found running the food stalls or giving cookery demonstrations.  The climax of the event is usually the Chilli Eating competition, which has to be seen to be believed, as a group of kamikaze volunteers consume a variety of fresh chillies, gradually working their way up the Schoville Scale, with the winner being the last man or woman standing.  Often it takes some seriously  hot potions to separate out the last few macho contestants.

So, if this has whetted your appetite you can find the next Chilli Festival near you by checking out the upcoming events on the Chile Foundry or Chile Festival listings.  Go on, give it a go!  You won’t regret it. 

Great Dorset Chilli Festival

So, the Olympics are over and its time to get back down to earth and regain some sense of order again.  It's been a busy couple of weeks for us as well, as the glorious Great Dorset Chilli Festival fell right in the middle of the 2 weeks and we spent "super Saturday" in a charming little B&B in Upton.  Well worth a visit - Laurel Cottage.  That was after a lovely supper in the local pub - St Peters Finger.

The Chilli Festival was great, probably our best yet.  Fantastic weather, beautiful setting and as ever positive feedback on our products.  Once again we went home with a nearly empty car on the Sunday night.  Best sellers were without doubt the Chilli Mills and we sold out of the Portable Mills on the first day.  The Scarves and Jewellery went really well, especially the Jalapeño Bunches.

We took down a new product for us, in the form of some exceptionally good beef jerky made by Trail Head Foods.  Wow!  That went down really well.  We sold two flavours over the weekend, Naga and Chipotle.  We will be selling these again at the remainder of the events we are doing this year but have no plans to sell it on-line at the moment.  If you can't get down to the festivals you can get these flavours and other directly from their web-site.

Talking of web-sites, we have a few more products that have just arrived or are expected any day now. Watch out for a wonderful new Mexican cookbook, Chilli and Chocolate by Isabel Hood which should be on-line by the end of this week along with some really special and unique new silver chilli jewellery.

Hand Cast Chilli Resin Glassware

It's fair to say that we are really excited about our latest product line.  We first saw this range of resin glassware embedded with real chillies back in February at a Trade Show and it has taken until a couple of weeks ago to get our hands on them and until today to get them into the on-line shop.

The products are handmade in Thailand.  Using designs by a New York based artist to create the moulds, the resin is poured in in layers and the chillies embedded by hand.  Each layer has to partially set before the next is added to ensure the chillies remain in position.  For the larger items this process is painstakingly slow.  When the acrylic resin is completely set the product is smoothed and polished.

We have a range of items in stock at the moment consisting of the large decorative bowl, the rectangular vase, the coaster, the storage jar, the glow light and the soap dish, with a view to extending the range to include items such as large decorative plates, tissue box covers, clocks, photo frames, paperweights, and a variety of candle holders and bathroom accessories.

The products have the appearance of glass (or ice as one customer commented at the Birmingham Chilli Festival) but the resilience of the acrylic resin.  They are easy to care for and can be washed in warm soapy water or even put in the dishwasher on a delicate setting.  If in time they lose their shine they can be polished with a light oil which will quickly restore them to their original state.

We are very proud of this range which is truly striking and elegant and any of the items would make a very special gift for a special chilli lover.

Birmingham Chilli Festival Report.

Well, the Birmingham Chilli Festival has come and gone.  Thanks to all of you who turned up to say hello and thanks again to everyone who bought some of our products.
The Friday was quiet due in part to the weather which was, now typically for the summer of 2012, wet and windy, but Saturday was dry and much busier.
It was a very different experience to the other three festivals we have been to, as it was situated in a public place and the customers were a mix of chilli fan's who had made a special trip and people who had just stumbled upon it on their Saturday out in Birmingham.
For us it was a great networking opportunity.  We met Sharon who makes her own delicious West Indian Sauces and Jerk Marinades from totally fresh ingredients and we plan to to stock these soon so keep a look out for them on the web-site.  We also met a young man who is in the process of establishing the Midlands first Chilli Farm.  More on that in a future blog.......
We also met a great semi-retired couple who are going to help us optimise our on-line business for a very reasonable fee.
I have recently been approached by a local pub to help them organise a Chilli Eating Competition so paid special attention to this event at the Birmingham Chilli Festival and took away a few ideas and safety tips.  What great entertainment it is watching insane macho people consuming raw chillies one after the other gradually moving up the Scoville Scale.  If you ever get the chance to see one don't miss it!
Best Sellers from this weekend were our range of Chilli Chocolate and interestingly some of our specialised Dried Chillies.  On the Thursday before the event we picked up some delicious Mr Singh's Hot Sauce at our local East End Cash and Carry and sold out by lunch-time on the Friday!  We'll definitely be stocking that in the future.
We also took the opportunity to promote our range of Hampers and Gift Boxes which are in still development and the full range will be available in time for Christmas, as will our new Chilli Glassware range which again is not yet on the web-site.