上火、腹痛、粉刺、溃疡、痔疮……我们经常会把各种“火属性”的身体问题，与吃辣联系起来。
不过暂时放下这种想象层级的联系，芝加哥医学院的Edwin McDonald教授从科学角度指出：吃辣在大多数情况下是有益健康的。我们先看结论。Ed教授认为：
Spicy foods are healthy.
吃辣有益健康。
Spicy foods don’t cause ulcers, but be careful if you have irritable bowel syndrome, dyspepsia, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Basically, if spicy foods give you belly pain, think before you eat.
吃辣并不会导致溃疡。但如果你患有肠易激综合征、消化不良，或者炎症性肠病（IBD），则要小心选择吃辣。简而言之，如果吃辣让你肚子疼，吃之前请三思。
Spicy foods don’t cause hemorrhoids, but you may feel the burn if you have anal fissures.
吃辣不会导致痔疮。但如果你患有肛裂，可能会有灼烧感。
Don’t get spicy foods in your eyes.
注意辣别入眼。
Use gloves if handling super hot peppers.
处理特辣辣椒时，戴手套。
Regarding ridiculously spicy foods with warning labels, eat them at your own risk. That ghost pepper sauce almost burned off my chest hairs from the inside—respect it.
至于带着警告标签的变态辣食物，如食用自担风险。那个印度鬼椒差点没把我胸部汗毛从里到外全烧掉 — 请对它怀有敬意。
△ ghost pepper 印度鬼椒（版权图来自：123RF）
1
吃辣或有助于溃疡恢复
Contrary to popular belief, multiple studies show that capsaicin actually inhibits acid production in the stomach.
和普遍观点不同，多项研究显示辣椒素实际上可以抑制胃酸产生。
As a matter of fact, capsaicin has been considered as a medication for preventing ulcer development in people who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
而事实上，辣椒素也被视为帮助非甾类抗炎药（如布洛芬）服用者抑制溃疡的方剂。
2
吃辣与痔疮无关
In 2006, in a study published in Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, researchers randomly assigned people with large hemorrhoids to taking a placebo capsule or a capsule of red hot chili powder. The participants had to rate the effects of the pills on their hemorrhoid symptoms.
在2006年《结直肠疾病》期刊发表的一项研究中，研究者将长有较大痔疮的患者随机分入两组，一组患者服用安慰剂胶囊，另一组患者服用红辣椒粉胶囊。试验参与者需要评估胶囊对其痔疮症状的作用。
The study found that the spicy capsules had no effect on hemorrhoid symptoms.
试验发现，辣椒胶囊对痔疮症状并无影响。
The story is a little different for people with anal fissures. A study in 2008 demonstrated that spicy foods aggravate symptoms associated with anal fissures.
然而对于肛裂患者，情况就有些不同了。2008年一项研究证明吃辣会加剧肛裂的症状。
In the study, patients were randomly given a week of placebo and a week of chili pepper capsules. Eighty-one percent of the participants felt better on the placebo.
在研究中，患者被随机给予一个星期的安慰剂或者辣椒胶囊。研究后81%的参与者服用安慰剂时感觉更好。
3
吃辣或有助减肥
A META-analysis of 90 different studies that looked at the role of capsaicin in weight management found spicy foods reduce appetite and that they increase energy expenditure.
一项对九十个不同的研究的元分析，探讨了辣椒素在体重管理中扮演的角色。分析认为，辛辣食品可以降低食欲，提高能量消耗。
4
吃辣确实可能与腹痛和肠胃不适有关
Although spicy foods don’t cause ulcers, they can trigger abdominal pain in some people.
尽管吃辣不会导致溃疡，但确实能在一些人身上诱发腹痛。
One study specifically highlighted that frequent consumption of spicy foods can trigger upper gastrointestinal symptoms in some people with dyspepsia.
一项研究特别指出，频繁摄入辛辣食物会导致一些消化不良患者出现上消化道症状。
Another study also showed that “those consuming spicy foods greater than or equal to 10 times per week were 92 percent more likely to have IBS compared with those who never consumed spicy foods”.
另一项研究则指出“和从不吃辣的人相比，每周吃辣10次或以上的人群，患炎症性肠病的可能性高出92%”。
写在最后
如果肠胃没有特殊应激症状，适度吃辣对身体反而有好处，且吃辣对肠胃疾病的影响，也限于加重症状，而非诱因。真正伤害肠胃的，其实高盐高油食品、烟酒，以及饥饱不定，不规律的饮食作息。
文章摘选自（含引用论文出处连接）：
https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/health-and-wellness-articles/2018/september/spicy-foods-healthy-or-dangerous
