Chiles are Hot!
Continued from our Retreat & Renew Daily Tip.
Mild to mind-blowing, chiles are one hot culinary ingredient.
By Wendy Bazilian, DrPH, RD
It’s the ultimate oxymoron, but also speaks the truth: chiles are hot. Chiles are known for their heat and it’s due in large part from a special phytonutrient compound called capsaicin (cap-SAY-sin) that brings the fire to the party from your plate to your mouth.
There are some 3,000 varieties of chiles and typically the smaller and brighter red the chile is, generally the hotter it is, too. And many varieties are making it increasingly on menus and into recipes in cookbooks and online today: they’re one hot culinary trend.
Chiles offer flavor to your meals and also antioxidants and other health-promoting properties to your body. Research ranging from the mild paprika and hotter cayenne have linked red peppers with increasing metabolism and decreasing appetite. It might even help burn fat. Other research has looked at promoting healthy digestion, heart health, and cancer prevention. Capsaicin from chiles is also used in topical products to ease muscle and joint pain.
Chiles are ranked according to their heat on what’s called the Scoville heat scale. Chile fans will often challenge each other to move up the scale that ranges from 0 to over 1 million. The scale can go higher yet when the capcaisin is extracted and put into controlled products like police-grade pepper spray.
Here are some more common chiles you might encounter and a couple others so you’re sure to steer clear:
| Chile | Scoville Heat Score |
|---|---|
| Bell pepper | 0 |
| Pimento, Peperoncini, Banana peppers, Ground paprika | 100-500 |
| Anaheim (red or green) chile | 500-1,000 |
| Ancho | 1,000-2,000 |
| Jalapeno, Hungarian Paprika | 2,500-5,000 |
| Serrano | 10,000-20,000 |
| Chipotle | 15,000 |
| Cayenne pepper, Tobasco | 30,000-50,000 |
| Habanero | 100,000-350,000 |
| Jolokia pepper (ghost chile) | > 1,000,000 ! |
Here’s a delicious recipe from Rancho La Puerta to spice up your day. It’s got a healthy sprinkle of chile... that will leave you anything but!
Roasted Corn Soup with Ancho Chile Sauce (featuring ancho and cayenne)
Wendy Bazilian (www.wendybazilian.com) is a doctor of public health, registered dietitian and freelance writer in San Diego. She is also the Nutrition Advisor at the renowned Golden Door and Co-owner of Bazilian’s Health Clinic with her husband and business partner, Dr. Jason Bazilian. Dr. Wendy is author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet (Rodale).
Follow her on Facebook.
