The Benefits of Spicing Up Your Life!

“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.” (3 John 1:2)

Many people are “sunny personalities,” tying their moods and energy to sunshine. To me, the grey, overcast days are much worse than the cold ones.

When depressed, the mind appeals for relief. People tend to gravitate to comfort foods but that simply puts on the pounds. Instead of reaching for chocolate pudding or potato chips, how about going for something producing healthier results?

First turn to Scripture and what truly brings Joy to the soul, Jesus! Then go to God’s Healing Garden:  Hot spicy foods improves one’s mood naturally. (Drugs and alcohol don’t!)

The chemicals in spicy foods have so many medicinal factors to improve health; it’s hard to know where to start!

Let’s look at cravings:

1. When one is mired in a depressed state, it craves happiness.
2. When one is in pain, they tend to seek out emotional relief found in comfort foods.
3. When our bodies are exhausted, it requires food (water)for quick energy.

That’s when we should turn to hot spicy foods!

Whenever one consumes horseradish, hot sauce, salsa, hot peppers, hot mustards, wasabi and Chili spices, it affects the brain’s neurotransmitters. (Just a fancy word regarding how the nerves send messages to each other.)

When our brain communicates its desire for relief from pain, depression or lethargy, it sends out a signal. Then tiny chemical “firemen” answer the call, running in with fire hoses blasting our brain with the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin. “Aah” you sigh, “I feel so much happier and more energetic now.”

So, I add hot spices not only to Chili, pasta, Oriental foods and soups but even special wine sauces, tomato juice or chocolate for a boost of happiness. (Chili spice in chocolate??? Try it, it’s amazing! Probably dating back to the Mayan culture?)

Haven’t lost weight recently, no matter how much you exercise or cut down? Chili’s affect one’s metabolism by revving up your internal engine. Consume a week of smaller, spicier meals and see how the pounds decrease.

Hot spices burn off calories because the heat one feels is the energy needed to consume them. Fascinating, right?

This knowledge doesn’t give you a license to eat more, mind you! Use restraint and discipline. Anything that makes one feel good can become addictive. I say this because hot, spicy food is my trigger food. It’s tough for me to stop gobbling down salsa and chips at a Mexican restaurant.

However, it should naturally curb your cravings because it sends out a blast of overwhelming flavors, fooling the brain into believing it has eaten more than it has and voila’, you find you’re not as hungry.

Chili peppers contain capsaicin, a natural immune system protector.

Experiencing a cold? Chili’s are a natural decongestant and expectorant. Anything that will make one’s eyes moisten will also open up the lungs and sinuses. Reach for the hot peppers, horseradish or spiciest salsas! Hot wings or General Tso’s Chicken anyone?

People spend a fortune on over-the-counter drugs when it’s right in your refrigerator. So when you’re experiencing arthritic or muscle pain; or coming down with a sore throat, reach for the hot Tabasco sauce and add a few drops in your chicken soup or sauces.

So many remedies, so little time! I haven’t even begun to discuss how hot peppers contain antioxidants which keep us young, neutralizes free radicals, protects us against heart disease, strokes, cell damage, cancers and other illnesses. That’s for another post!

Yes, Praise God, He definitely provided natural relief!