[CH] We KNEW This!!!
Dave Drum (dirty_dave@chillicooks.org)
Tue, 08 Aug 2006 21:13:53 -0500
Any diabetic here? Pay 'tention, now ....
Chile May Help Tame Insulin Spikes
Adding Chile Spice to Regular Diet Might Reduce Insulin Spikes After
Meals
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
on Friday, July 14, 2006
July 14, 2006 -- Spicing up your diet with cayenne chile might lower
insulin spikes after meals.
That news comes from researchers at Australia's University of
Tasmania, including graduate student Kiran Ahuja and Madeleine Ball,
MD, who heads the university's School of Life Sciences.
The researchers studied 36 healthy adults who were about 46 years old,
on average; their average BMI was 26, which falls in the overweight
(but not obese) BMI range.
For three weeks, participants ate their normal diet, without any
spices. Then they headed to the researchers' lab after fasting overnight.
At the lab, participants provided blood samples and then ate a meal
consisting of a burger, bread, and a sugar drink. They were told to
finish the meal within 10 minutes; afterwards, they provided more
blood for post-meal tests.
After one more week on their spice-free diet, the participants
repeated the meal test. But this time, their burger was seasoned with
a cayenne chile spice blend.
The researchers used the blood samples to measure participants' levels
of insulin -- a hormone that controls blood sugar -- before and after
the test meals. Average insulin levels spiked higher after the bland
meal than after the chile-seasoned meal, the study shows.
Why Insulin Matters
Here's why insulin levels are important. Abnormally high insulin
levels may be a sign of insulin resistanceinsulin resistance, in which
the body falters in its ability to control blood sugar. Ultimately,
that may lead to type 2 diabetesdiabetes -- the most common type of
diabetes -- and other health problems.
Participants repeated the four-week cycle, with one change: They added
the cayenne chile spice blend to their usual daily diet.
Afterwards, they had a final test meal: bread, chile-seasoned burger,
and sugar drink. Once again, they provided blood samples before and
after that meal. And once again, their post-meal insulin increase was
lower than it had been after three weeks of bland food.
The researchers aren't exactly sure how chile helped reduce post-meal
insulin spikes. They note that capsaicin -- the fiery chemical in
chile -- and chile's antioxidants might play a role. Ahuja's team
calls for more studies on chile's effects on insulin spikes.
-30-
--
ENJOY!!!
--------
UNCLE DIRTY DAVE'S KITCHEN --
Home of Yaaaaa Hooooo Aaahhh!!! HOT SAUCE and Hardin Cider
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin