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KEn Becker wrote: > I had read somewhere that hot peppers like that were healthy and killed > bacteria. She thinks I am wrong. What is your opinion? Ken B Dear Ken, Watching Steve eat hot peppers, I've often wondered if they'd kill bacteria. It wouldn't surprise me one bit--the amazing thing is that he has any taste buds left! With regard to health benefits, hot peppers contain a substance called "capsaicin" which, applied topically as a lotion, reduces arthritis pain. Ingested, it increases the metabolic rate, helps with digestion, and may improve cardiovascular health by reducing the tendency of the blood to clot, and by increasing HDL cholesterol while lowering LDL and triglycerides. Surprisingly, it does not cause ulcers or hinder their healing, though I can't imagine it would be very comfortable to apply peppers to an ulcer. There was a bit of hoopla a few years ago with regard to the cholesterol-lowering benefits of capsaicin, but I haven't heard anything recently -- I suspect people would rather risk heart disease than suffer the heat. I've not heard that peppers kill bacteria, though. Sorry! Kathrynne -- Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD Editor-in-Chief, "Spotlight on Food--nutrition news for people 60-plus" http://www.fortnet.org/~fivstar and NUTRITION TOPICS copy-ready handouts http://www.dietetics.com/class/fivstar/ Tel: 970-493-6532 Fax: 970-493-6538