One place in China called Si Chuan, chili is a very popular food there. Almost every single person eats chili with every meal. The local chef will use chili with every dish, and without the chili, the food would not be as delicious. Many Chinese diet therapy researchers have found that Si Chuan people eat a lot of chili as it is associated with their weather and is more suitable for them to eat chili.

Si Chun is a very damp, foggy and cold place through most of the year. One very important function of chili is being able to clear the dampness and to expel the cold. This is why the local people of Si Chuan like to eat chili as it can help to avoid these conditions. This is in association with Traditional Chinese Medicine as it is well known the environmental conditions which may affect the body can be cleared by the use of special foods, such as chili removing the dampness and coldness from the body. Many people have told me that if you live in Si Chuan, you should learn to eat chili.

I have another story to tell you from my friends. My friend who lives in Beijing visited Si Chuan to work for a few months. When he stayed there, he ate chili everyday and he was very healthy and happy. When he came back to Beijing, he was still keen to eat chili dishes everyday. However, after a couple of weeks he started to have a dry throat, dry nose, red burning eyes, pimples,  pain after bowel movement and swelling in his bottom area. At this point, he stopped eating chili and started to eat the foods he ate before he went to Si Chuan. Since this, his symptoms disappeared. This story indicates the theory of Chinese Medicine; that chili has beneifical and downfalls in its effects on the body. All depending on the amount you eat, the season, time and location.

Now I would like to share with you the characteristics of chili.

1. What is pathogenic dampness?

Chinese Medicine considers dampness to be a very common pathogenic effect on the body. It comes from the environment especially when it is the wet season with continuous rain, cloud and fog. When these conditions last for too long or are very often, it will effect the body by moving the dampness into the body. When the dampness effects the body it will affect primarily the spleen and its function. The spleen is important for metabolism of food and transportation of fluid. If the spleen function is affected it may have the following symptoms; lack of energy, lethargy, light sleep, full, bloated and heavy feeling of the stomach, sluggish bowel movement or loose stool, feeling of heaviness in the head, stiff neck and shoulders, arm and leg heaviness. For some people, if the symptoms above are not controlled some may develop under-reactive thyroid, weight gain, diabetes and high blood pressure.

So if you are staying in a very damp and cold place or you are attacked by dampness. I suggest that during your treatment you can eat a certain amount of chili with your food, which can help to clear the dampness and cold from the body. It will help to treat the symptoms and prevent further pathogenic effects.

2. The health benefits of chili

i) Helps to clear fluid retention, dampness and cold:
The characteristics of chili is spicy and warm. It acts upon the spleen channel and helps the spleen to metabolize fluid and expel dampness and cold from environmental conditions. From this point, we now understand why Si Chuan people like to eat chili.

ii) Helps to digest food:
Chinese Medicine considers the spleen to be a major organ to digest and transport food. If your body is damp, it will effect the spleen function. Chili can therefore help the spleen to rid dampness so it is functioning well and the transport and metabolize food quicker and bowel movement is easier. This is why certain amount of people have experienced chili as being helpful in weight loss.

iii) Helps to stop joint pain and prevent arthritis:
Environmental cold and dampness can easily affect the joints and its circulation. This may cause stagnation in the joints which may cause joint problems such as joint pain and arthritis. Symptoms such as joint pain, joint tightness or numbness, aversion to cold, joint pain worsens when it is cold or wet and damp season. (For a certain amount of people, they may feel the cold or rain before it comes as their joints start to feel uncomfortable). This is why Chinese Medicine diagnosis and treatment pay a lot of attention to body conditions and the season.  If you suffer from the symptoms above, and are undergoing treatment, eating a certain amount of chili can help your condition (spicy characteristic to expel dampness and the warmth to remove the cold).

3. How much chili should you eat?

I suggest that even if your body or the season is suitable to eat chili, you should only eat a certain amount. Don’t over eat it. I know someone who ate chili and had ulcers in the mouth, pimples and constipation the next day after eating a large quantity of chili. If you eat too much, you may over heat the body. If you are unsure of the symptoms associated with over-heating the body. Please check the symptoms below.

4. Precautions

Above I mentioned the beneficial effects of chili on the body. But like every single food, they have both good and bad affects. I suggest that when you choose your foods, especially when you eat them often, you should understand the downfalls of them. From this, you will be able to acquire a greater benefit from your diet.

i) As chili is very hot, it may bring lots of heat into the body. If you already have a hot body constitution it is better to east less or avoid eating this hot food. Otherwise the body may become overheated causing a ying and yang imbalance.

The following symptoms are associated with a hot body constitution: Red face, body easy to perspire, dry mouth, craving cold beverages or foods, feeling hot, anxiety and emotional, bloating, constipation, pungent stool, very yellow/dark urination with pungent smell, heart palpitations, dry skin, red and dry eyes.

ii) If you are undergoing treatment for blood pressure, liver disease, diabetes, kidney and heart disease. It is best to be cautious when eating chili. Please consult your TCM practitioner, to see whether it is suitable for you.

iii) In my many years of clinical experience, I realised the following symptoms it is best to avoid eating chili: stomach and bowel ulcers, stomach infection, heart burn, haemorrhoids, swelling, pain or bleeding around bottom area after bowel movement, fever, sore throat, cough with yellow phlegm, urinary bladder infection, hot flushes, dry mouth and thirsty through the night or skin rash.

iv) If you are unsure of your body constitution, it is best to advise your TCM practitioner or health advisor.