After being diagnosed with high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I began looking for natural ways to lower both without having to take a bunch of pills every day.
Of course my doctor told me to get more exercise and change my diet.
He gave me the normal list of, no flavor foods as well as three new prescriptions.
I knew there had to be a healthier way to eat without losing the flavor.
So, off I went looking for more information.
Oddly enough, I discovered something quite surprising while discussing my cholesterol and blood pressure problem with my Aunt.
My Aunt loves food and anything that has to do with food.
I would even go so far as to say she is a gourmet cook.
She does not follow a low fat diet nor does she avoid foods that are high in cholesterol or sodium.
Therefore, I was really surprised to find out that her cholesterol and blood pressure levels are well within the healthy range.
This puzzled me because not only do we share genetics we share many of the same eating habits, with the exception of one.
She loves spicy foods and I tend to avoid them.
This really made me stop and think.
The next day I called my doctor and asked him if there was any correlation between spicy foods and lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels and he assured me that there was.
Spicy foods are actually very beneficial when it comes to some medical ailments.
There is a substance called Capsaicin that is found in many varieties of hot peppers, which are used in many spices and hot sauces.
Researchers have found that Capsaicin is useful in not only lowering cholesterol and blood pressure but also for treating colds and fevers, speeding up the metabolism, preventing certain types of cancer, and controlling pain.
It can also be a key player in the prevention of heart disease and Ulcers as well as many other serious health problems.
This is good news for me.
Even though I still have exercise more and change my diet to include less fat and sodium, I do not have to sacrifice flavor to do so.
I can take some of that boring, fat-free food and spice it up a little without worrying about making it unhealthy.
In fact, adding some spice will actually make it even healthier.
How can I go wrong there? I still take the medications the doctor prescribed because I do not think eating spicy foods alone will cure the problem.
However, by combining spicy foods with the medications obtain better results than with just medication alone.