Re: [CH] Hot News Regarding Your Blood Sugar
Doug Irvine (dougandmarie@shaw.ca)
Wed, 29 Nov 2006 11:38:30 -0800
Buffalo Sue wrote:
Hi Sue, and C-H bunch....I have been diabetic since being diagnosed in
1990, and as some of you are aware, I am just over a month away from
hitting my 82nd year. I have been eating chiles, in one form or
another, almost every day since I started eating them big time in about
93, when I started growing my own. My blood sugar levels, with very few
exceptions, runs in the normal range all the time, and even if I indulge
in sweet stuff once in awhile, it still does not "spike". I take no
medication for diabetes and have really never even been on a diabetic
diet. We do use Splenda in all cooking and Marie uses it in baking,
although even in baking she will use a 50/50 sugar Splenda split,
because Splenda does not have the bulk of sugar, which some baking
recipes require. Recently Splenda introduced a brown sugar Splenda
product, which she has been using with great success. So, I can agree
with Dr. Ball's findings 100 % and it is great to see someone with a
little clout endorsing what I have known for so many years. Cheers, Doug
in BC
>
> Hot News Regarding Your Blood Sugar
>
> Want a healthful meal? How about a nice hearty bowl of chili?
> According to an important new study from Australia, chili may actually
> help improve health by affecting the hormone insulin that controls
> blood sugar.
>
> According to Madeleine J. Ball, MD, one of the researchers from the
> study, both some small animal and human studies have indicated that
> consumption of meals containing chili peppers or chili seasoning might
> increase both calorie burning and fat burning. What the researchers
> wanted to find out was whether the consumption of chili also affects
> insulin levels after a meal.
>
> As it turns out, it does. "The subjects had similar blood sugar levels
> after eating the bland meals and the chili containing meals," Dr. Ball
> told me, "but their insulin levels were different." Why does this
> matter? Because chronically high levels of insulin can be a risk
> factor for metabolic syndrome, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
> "Chili is probably having some effect on the ability of the body to
> clear -- or remove -- insulin from the bloodstream," Dr. Ball said.
>
> The chili preparation used in the study consisted of 30 grams a day of
> freshly chopped chili blend, a commercially available chutney that
> consisted of 55% cayenne chili plus a few other ingredients -- such as
> water and sugar. Dr. Ball believes that capsaicin was responsible for
> the effect -- the compound responsible for the heat or pungency in
> chili peppers. Capsaicin is also the active ingredient in the chemical
> pepper spray. While it's responsible for the burning heat you feel
> when you eat a really hot chili pepper, it also has significant health
> benefits. "We suspect it has significant antioxidant and
> anti-inflammatory properties," Dr. Ball told me, which could also be
> important in reducing atherosclerosis.
>
> Though blood sugar went up about the same in all test subjects
> regardless of whether they were fed chili containing meals or bland
> meals, those with the chili containing meals had less insulin in their
> bloodstream on post-eating measures. The implication? The chili
> lowered the insulin-induced cortisol response to the meal, which
> promoted a more stable blood sugar level. Interestingly, the results
> were more pronounced in those with a higher BMI (body mass index).
>
> More studies will no doubt come on capsaicin. In the meantime, the
> weather is getting cooler, so go ahead and enjoy that chili.