the sauce
Is Hot Sauce Healthy?
Is Hot Sauce Healthy?
Are you someone who loves spicy foods and topping your dishes with hot sauce, but you aren’t sure if it’s good for you? Read on, and we’ll break down what makes hot sauce healthy and why you might not have to worry about enjoying the tongue-heating condiment you adore.
Ingredients in Hot Sauce
For starters, any type of benefits we may see from hot sauce all come from its major ingredient: chili peppers.
While different types of hot sauce and hot sauce brands use different types of chili peppers (some examples include jalapeño peppers, cayenne peppers, and habanero peppers), all peppers have one thing in common. They all contain capsaicinoids.
Capsaicinoids are the chemical compounds in all peppers that create heat and spice. Capsaicin is the main capsaicinoid and is known for creating that strong sensation that comes with eating spicy food. It is also known for providing multiple health benefits.
Health Benefits of Hot Sauce
Capsaicinoids boast a large number of health benefits, and thus, so do chili peppers. As chili peppers are the main ingredient in hot sauce, these benefits may impact you as a hot sauce consumer.
1. Antioxidant Properties
Capsaicin, and capsaicinoids in general, are known antioxidants. Antioxidants fight against free radicals, which are unstable molecules made by your body during metabolic processes. Free radicals trigger oxidation within your body which can negatively affect cell growth and development.
Because antioxidants fight this oxidation, they prevent free radicals from causing further problems. This is critical to recognize because, if given a chance, free radicals can cause immense health issues. If left untreated, they may contribute to the development of cancerous cells, heart disease, stroke, and other diseases.
2. Anti-Inflammatory Properties
The capsaicinoids in chili peppers are also known to be anti-inflammatory. This is beneficial for a multitude of reasons because anti-inflammatory properties can help our internal systems by:
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Decreasing symptoms of certain diseases and illnesses and potentially aiding in any discomfort or pain experienced because of these illnesses. This may apply to inflammatory bowel syndrome, arthritis, lupus, and many other autoimmune illnesses.
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Decreasing your body’s risk of certain physical and/or mental impairments and illnesses such as obesity, heart disease, depression, cancer, and more.
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Improving your blood sugar, cholesterol, and body fat levels.
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Improving your general daily energy and mood due to overall improved health and wellbeing.
Chili peppers are known as anti-inflammatory because of their heat level. After your body experiences a wave of spice, it thinks it has been burned by something unintentional. In turn, your body jumps into action, working to reduce the effects of this burning and soothe your internal systems.
However, it is crucial to understand that this does not mean more spice is equivalent to higher anti-inflammatory benefits. Studies have shown that the benefits capsaicin has with regards to improving our bodily health are not a result of the concentration of capsaicinoids, but rather how the compounds interact with our specific cells.
3. May Help Fight Cancer
As a result of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, capsaicin can potentially act as a cancer-fighting agent when consumed. This was found through a study that observed capsaicin could decrease tumor cells in small increments, all thanks to its antioxidant qualities helping lower internal oxidation.
Another potential cancer-fighting food comes in the form of the fungi known as black and white truffles. If you’re interested in combining peppers and truffles for a potentially powerful, healthy antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer duo, try our truffle-infused TRUFF Hot Sauce with real flecks of delicious, decadent truffles.
It goes great with rich, flavorful meals like this NY-Style TRUFF Chopped Cheese Sandwich.
4. May Help Fight Diabetes
Another great health benefit of hot sauce is its ability to potentially decrease the risk of diabetes and lessen symptoms of diabetes.
Some studies have shown that a spicy meal containing higher levels of capsaicin compared to the same meal without that heat tended to result in subjects with more regular insulin levels.
Researchers believe this may be because capsaicin can improve our internal tissues’ sensitivity to insulin. This means capsaicin can strengthen our internal systems, so less insulin is needed to transfer glucose throughout our blood and internal tissues. This is essential because most diabetics either have less insulin than the majority of people or are unable to process insulin as well as most people.
Insulin is the hormone produced by our bodies to provide energy. It does this by assisting in the processing of blood sugar. As capsaicin-rich food can assist in regulating insulin levels, consuming hot sauce may help regulate or prevent diabetes.
5. May Help Relieve Some Symptoms
While hot sauce or spicy foods, in general, may not be a cure for any sickness like the common cold, consuming capsaicin’s heat in hot sauce is an excellent way to clear your sinuses when you need it most.
With hot sauce’s zesty heat, you have a sinus-liberating remedy (at least temporarily) that tastes much more luxurious and indulgent than plain, tired chicken noodle soup.
6. May Help With Obesity
With capsaicin providing anti-inflammatory benefits and decreasing symptoms of diabetes, the chemical compound has been found to help with problems involving obesity and improve digestion. Furthermore, capsaicin’s assistance with decreasing obesity can be linked to other previously mentioned benefits.
As a digestive aid, capsaicin works by reducing the production of acid in the stomach and increasing the production of saliva — we can thank the heat for this one. At times, spicy food can make our eyes tear up or our mouths water, and when our mouths water, this increases the production of saliva, which can help break down food easier and help digestion run smoother at times.
Capsaicin already assists in the improvement of our metabolic processes in a variety of ways, as seen by those already listed. Capsaicin’s aforementioned health benefits like anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties help improve your body’s overall digestive functioning and can be a great start on the road to weight loss.
But remember, this doesn’t mean we’re saying that you should eat hot sauce with and on everything, and then you’ll lose weight. It’s simply worth noting that adding that hot sauce on top of a wrap or grilled chicken salad will not only taste divine, but it may be better than other heavy sauces or dressings.
A Healthier Alternative to Other Sauces
So, if you like the taste, why not choose hot sauce over other sauces? It’s delicious, and on the right dish, it might be exactly what you need. We recommend our TRUFF Hot Sauce, which is infused with black truffles, or our TRUFF White Hot Sauce, which is infused with white truffles. Both sauces have decadent flavors and strong antioxidants, so you can spoil yourself in the most luxurious way possible.
Most hot sauces are vegan, made mostly with chili peppers and some additional seasoning. Furthermore, in comparison to other sauces, hot sauce also tends to contain fewer calories because of its simple ingredient list of mostly chili peppers and vinegar.
When compared to sauces like barbecue, ketchup, or sweet chili sauces, the standard hot sauce is less harmful to your health as it lacks sugar. This doesn’t mean, however, that those sauces are inherently unhealthy. You may want to avoid overconsuming these sauces, while with hot sauce, overconsumption is less of an issue.
Plus, hot sauce is just known to make you happy! Eating spicy food triggers the release of endorphins in your body, so enjoy that heat with a smile on your face.
Hot Sauce: Healthy, Your Way
Now that you know what makes hot sauce healthy, make the choice that’s best for you. Erase the stigma that “healthy” means unenjoyable, and be assured that there are some enjoyable and healthy options.
It’s essential to note that we aren’t claiming that hot sauce is the world’s healthiest food or that you should eat it in extreme quantities to improve all aspects of life. However, we believe it’s valid to point out that hot sauce and its ingredients are known for some wonderful health benefits.
Whether those benefits are anti-inflammation, cancer-fighting, or simply clearing up your sinuses, hot sauce can be an excellent health assist when you need it. Enjoy it and its many benefits!
Sources:
Potentials of Truffles in Nutritional and Medicinal Applications: A Review | PMC
Effect of Capsaicin on Prostate Cancer Cells | PubMed
Capsaicinoids Lower Plasma Cholesterol and Improve Endothelial Function in Hamsters | PubMed
Dietary Capsaicin and Its Anti-Obesity Potency: From Mechanism to Clinical Implications | PMC
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