Hot chilli peppers do more than set your mouth on fire and inspire rock bands in search of a name. For some time the ingredient capsaicin from hot chillies has been used in ointments to relieve pain. Now it seems that chillies might also reduce your blood pressure.
Previous research on capsaicin as a blood pressure lowering agent has yielded conflicting results. These studies though have been on short-term application of capsaicin. In this new animal-based study long term consumption of capsaicin was observed.
The result was that long-term consumption of capsaicin from chilli peppers was found to lead to significant reductions in blood pressure.
The reason capsaicin is able to do this is that it activates a thing called the transient receptor vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channel which is found in the lining of blood vessels. Activating this channel leads to the production of nitric oxide which in turn causes the blood vessels to dilate (open up). When blood vessels open the pressure required to push blood through them drops and so you have a reduction in blood pressure.
Exactly how many chillies a human would have to eat every day for a prolonged period to achieve these results remains unclear. However, if you can face up to the tingling mouth then a daily chilli dose may be a good thing.
For those of who timidly shy away from the inferno-like capacities of a chilli, do not despair, all is not lost. There is a less potent Japanese chilli which instead of capsaicin (which provides the heat to most chillies) contains a compound dubbed capsinoid that is closely related to capsaicin. Early studies show that it may have the same effects as capsaicin.
If further research shows that capsinoid can have the same effect on TRPV1 then chilli-wimps may be able to partake of the same blood pressure lowering effects as those who go the full chilli-monty and revel in the heat of capsaicin.
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