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Hot Pepper Kills Prostate Cancer
brian0918 writes "U.S. and Japanese researchers have announced results of a study showing that capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers hot, can cause prostate cancer cells to kill themselves. 'Capsaicin led 80 percent of human prostate cancer cells growing in mice to commit suicide in a process known as apoptosis, the researchers said.' This led to tumors one fifth the size of those in untreated mice."
Hmm, a quick Google Scholar search for "capsaicin cancer" revealed this. That link, from NIH, seems to indicate that there's evidence that capsaicin is a carconigen:
The cancer increase was dependent on the concentration of these groups in a county. These results strengthen and extend an earlier case-control study which found odds ratios above 5 for the stomach cancer association with capsaicin pepper. It is further evidence that capsaicin is a human carcinogen.
Thoughts?
I have discovered a truly marvelous
who works at Pfizer Global Research & Development, there are many natural substances that can treat diseases and conditions that are not known to the general public. For example, Lipitor, last year contributed to $13 BILLION of Pfizer's $16 BILLION profit. Drinkng 6 to 8 ounces of RED WINE per DAY (AND NO MORE!!!) will likely negate the need of Lipitor and similar drugs later in life for the treatment of elevated cholesterol and plaques in the arteries. The important point of this statement is that one cannot exceed 6 to 8 ounces of RED WINE per day, or else the effects of alcohol(ism) will have serious detrimental effects on the body. Google or Wikipedia 'resveratrol'.
Big pharma doesn't like the general public knowing that natural compounds present in everyday foods can prevent/treat diseases/conditions that arise later in life due to certain metabolic syndromes/disorders/lifestyles, etc... How else would big pharma demand high prices for its 'miracale/block-buster drugs'?
Since I'm a contract scientist working at Pfizer, and not employed by Pfizer, I feel obligated to tell the truth about some of the secrets hidden by the pharmaceutical industry. Don't read too much into what I've written, I'm not advocating the consumption of alcohol, but drinkning 6-8 ounces of red wine per day will keep high cholesterol and the doctor away, for a long, long time.
Well, they could use a technique similar to that of prostate biopsy, a needle into the prostate throgh the colon wall. They did that to me last week (12 samples and I counted each and every one) and I'm still uninating a little blood. ("is this uncomfortable?" Hell, yes! "This may burn a bit." Yup!)
Better than dying from a mestastsized prostate concer or enduring the other methods of controling it (possible side effects: impotance, incontenance, etc.) I was so nervous that my blood pressure was the hightest it's ever been. I have always been able to control it to some extent by relaxation techniques but that failed me it went up a few points the second time. Didn't even get a copy of the ultra sound picture: "It's a boy!".
Perhaps the Capsaicin could be administered in capsules that would not disintegrate in the stomach.
I wondered about Jennifer, the nurse, did she imagine when she took up nursing that she would spend her days stiking her finger up the rectums of perfect strangers to apply anesthetic? And what was the point of giving me privacy to change into and out of the gown? First time I've worn a maxi pad as well - and I did not go back to work.
Oh, BTW, my biopsy was negative.
Nate
What are the rates in countries such as South Korea, where many foods are extremely spicy?
-Palal
Do countries that have generally high capsasin consumption have a lowered incidence of prostate cancer? If one compares countries that eat tons of peppers and ones that don't, if you compensate for age and other factors can you see if there is some kind of correlation?
Very interesting.
It's all fine and well to joke about mexican food all over this thread, some of the zingers are very funny, but this gives me an idea: how about determining the incidence of prostate cancer in Mexico's population?
As an example, one of the typical "delicacies" found in the city of Guadalajara is a dish called "torta ahogada" or "drowned torta", which is pork meat stuffed in baguette-style bread, dipped in tomato sauce, then again in ultra-hot chile de arbol sauce. Garnished with pickled onions, you squeeze lemon juice, add a little rock salt and dig in. A LOT of people in Guadalajara eat this on a regular basis.
As a side note, just as in the United States some people bob for apples in a bucket full of water, there's one stand in Guadalajara that holds competitions, bobbing for tortas in a bucket full of chile de arbol sauce. The winner eats there free for a year. Strictly for masochists, if you ask me.
Anyway, if we compare the percentage of prostate cancer cases in Guadalajara as opposed to, say, Minneapolis, maybe a "real world" result will stick out plainly and clearly. Then again, maybe not, maybe a race is genetically more susceptible to contract prostate cancer, I dunno, but to dig up the data would cost next to nothing and could be worth a try.
Lil' Thindime, lilting a lacrimose lament, krashes the kwaint konfines of Kokonino Kounty
Purple grape juice reportedly has the same beneficial effects.
Capsaicin is like garlic, or tea. You can't get too much of it and it does great things for you. Capsaicin has several cardiovascular benefits. It's an anti-coagulant and it also lowers cholesterol and triglycerides. It's an analgesic (particularly effective against pain caused by nerve disorders and arthritis). It's also an effective topical analgesic (though I suspect in very weak mixtures, since it burns like hell otherwise).
Capsaicin kills the bacteria responsible for most stomach ulcers thus, contrary to popular opinion, it actually protects against stomach ulcers. As most people might surmise, it's excellent for clearing congestion.
If you need to lose weight, start eating hot sauce. Capsaicin increases the metabolism, thermogenesis, and oxygen consumption.
If you find hot sauce "too hot", then work your way up. Start with mildly hot sauces and slowly increase the heat over time. Most web sites that specialize in selling hot sauces also have the Scoville ratings for those sauces, so you can do be methodical about it if you want. Your body builds up a tolerance for the burning sensation in the mouth and before long, you'll find yourself able to eat sauces you didn't think you could. You just need to be consistent and eat some every day. I try to consume at least 3 teaspoons of 12,000 Scoville salsa a day.
My personal preference is El Yucateco Salsa Kutbil-ik de. It's a brown Mayan style habanero salsa from the Yucatan. I'm kind of partial to it 'cause I lived in the Yucatan for several years and it's pretty popular there. They also make a red sauce (6000 Scovilles) and a green (9000 Scovilles).
This is true, but it's not like there is one type of receptor on any given neuron. Capsaicin works on a very specific type of receptor that also responds to acids and temperature (hence the link to the burning feeling). In our mouths, at least, there's a receptor for every sensation, bitter (alkali, sour (acids), sweet (I remember reading that there's a specific receptor for many kinds of different sugars), salty (ummm, salts), and hot/cold.
I'm not a doctor or a biologist, but personally, I just don't feel a whole lot of anything in my stomach. You're right, that dosen't mean that capsaicin dosen't have some kind of effect, in fact, I've read that it can stimulate peristalsis in the GI tract and cause the parasympathetic nervous system to release a neurotransmitter which is responsible for lowering blood pressure and later release of endorphines. So, maybe it actually helps with good digestion and lowering blood pressure a bit, it could do much more for all I know... And all of that would indicate that there are at least a few compatible receptors in the stomach/GI tract, like you say. I didn't say there weren't. I've said time and again you couldn't feel it in your stomach, directly.
I was just saying that there's no real evidence that capsaicin does any harm in the stomach, like so many people think. They think eating peppers in quantity is analogous to drinking battery acid. Even the AC that responded to me thinking he knows what goes on was misinformed. So what if it causes more acid, if it does at all? The stomach deals with some nasty ass acid all the time, a little or a lot more won't cause a problem in the stomach, even with weakened mucous lining. Oh, sure, a lot more than normal isn't good for the esophagus, but it's not built to deal with it. It's been proven that almost all stomach ulcers are caused either by bacteria that build a small basic environment in which they can thrive, or by cancer! Acid dosen't hurt a healthy stomach.
Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
...I'm very glad to hear this (though it is, like most stories involving cancer, FUD or euFUD, it's "positive" counterpart). I will happily continue to put Dave's Insanity Sauce on my dishes :-) Anyone knows where I can get DI Spice or Vicious Vampire in Germany cheaper than at pepperworld.de (Especially VV is expensive at 10)? I want to try upgrading myself from grade 9 (50000-100000 Scoville) to grade 10 (100000-500000 Scoville), the hottest possible stuff (All above 500000 Scoville isn't produced for food, because humans apparently can't distinguish the taste anymore) for bragging reasons :-P
Oh God. I know that story all too well. A friend of mine told me about a place that serves up something called the Habanero Hamburger. It's a burger smothered habanero sauce, made with meat marinated in habanero. If you can finish it, they'll take your picture and hang it on the wall. Before you're allowed to eat it, you have to sign some kind of liability waiver. I believed at the time I could handle this no problem. I thought my tolerance for jalapenos meant that tackling this would be a piece of cake. I guess I didn't really understand at the time what a habanero was. After one bite I was doing fine. After two I was still going strong. On the third bite it finally hit me and intense pain like nothing else overcame me, but I was determined to carry on. By the fifth bite however it was over. I was incapacitated, having eaten less than half the burger. I rode home lying down in the back of my friend's car, writhing in pain. I haven't been the same since, and this was years ago.
One of the more memorable factoids from a neurobiology course I took years back was that the long-term desenzitation that one experiences from enjoying a capsaicin-rich diet is due to cell death in the taste buds. Short term adaptation does occur via another mechanism, but tastbud necrosis is important in the long term. This also explains why you feel the impact of the tex mex spice much more after not having had any for a few months - you have regrown the previously killed taste buds!
The tast bud death is however a necrotic effect - cell killing, via a vanilloid receptor - rather than suicide. See e g Caterina MJ et al, Nature 1997.
As soon as I read the article, I did a Google search for prostate cancer and hispanic. I found this page which states:
Hispanic-American and Native-American men have lower rates of prostate cancer than do white men. Worldwide, the lowest rates of prostate cancer are in Asian countries; the highest rates of prostate cancer are in Northern European countries.
Seems to support the theory!
But why is the rum gone?