Two Chile Pods

Spicy Food Off the Hook as Ulcer Cause–But Is It a Cure?

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by Dave DeWitt Are chiles a cause of ulcers or a cure for them? For centuries, there have been two schools of thought on the subject. The first holds that chiles produce excess stomach acid, which eats holes in the wall of the stomach and duodenum. This is why spicy diets have long been forbidden for ulcer sufferers. The other …

Chile Fist

The Powerful Health Punch of the Mighty Pod

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by Dave DeWitt Excerpted from The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia (1998, William Morrow & Co.). Chile peppers don’t have to be healthy to be fun to eat, but fortunately, they are. In fact, they have quite a long history as a folk remedy for all kinds of ailments, from anorexia to vertigo. Some of the more scientifically recognized medical applications of …

Bush Medicine: Folk Cures with Chile Peppers

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By Dave DeWitt Illustration by Harald Zoschke One of the most enjoyable chile research experiences I ever had was to study chile pepper folk cures used in various cultures. At that time the World Wide Web was not up and running, so I had to do the research the hard way–by going to libraries, going to the stacks, finding books–especially in …