At my age he had holes in his stomach

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
I don't eat any kind of hot peppers raw for contests. I don't drown everything I eat in crushed red pepper.

But I really enjoy certain kinds of foods (tomato-based mostly) with a bit of "burn" to them.

My father (who is dead, BTW, but NOT from a gastric-related illness!) put crushed red pepper on everything he ate. I hated CRP until about 5 or so years ago. Now I love it.

I think that obviously, DNA's got a bit to do with it. But I started liking the hot stuff years after my Dad. Am i on the same path? Will my love for sometimes-spicy-food give me huge-bleeding-puffy-ulcers?

Cliff Notes
Dad liked spicy food from when he was young.
He wound up with huge ulcers.
I only started liking spicy food from about 15 years before he croaked.
Is it DNA? Will I have holes in my stomach?
 

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
i don't think spicy food causes ulcers actually. there is a bacteria that causes the ulcer but once the ulcer is there is can be aggravated by stress or spicy food.
 

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
11,631
11
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Originally posted by: moshquerade
i don't think spicy food causes ulcers actually. there is a bacteria that causes the ulcer but once the ulcer is there is can be aggravated by stress or spicy food.

Yep. And an interesting side note, my grandfather once worked on a project where they demonstrated that ulcers were bacterial in nature. He was a microbiologist. So growing up he would always say that, and then when it started hitting the news he would remind us about his work in that field, sort of an I told you so, but no one was ever disagreeing with him.
 

Lemodular

Senior member
Sep 15, 2004
521
1
71
Originally posted by: moshquerade
i don't think spicy food causes ulcers actually. there is a bacteria that causes the ulcer but once the ulcer is there is can be aggravated by stress or spicy food.

The bateria is called Helicobacter Pilory and cane be cured with antibiotic. Does not mean it will cure all ulcers since not all ulcers are bacterial.
 

Skotty

Senior member
Dec 29, 2006
232
0
0
Although spicey and hot usually go hand in hand, I always make a distinction between the two. I hate it when my mouth is on fire from some really hot food, but I love very flavorful or spicey foods, especially Mexican and/or Tex-Mex (though authentic Mexican is actually rather bland). I eat spicey foods almost daily. I hit on this point constantly, because people that know me often make the mistake of telling others I like hot food, which really isn't the case. Take pickled jalapenos for instance. I love them. But I never buy/eat those sold as "hot"; only mild or maybe medium. Vlasic makes a Stackers brand jalapenos (the ones NOT labeled "hot", which also exist) that are just about right.

No one else in my family is a heavy spicey food eater, so no DNA correlation in my family it would seem. I also have zero problems with ulcers or other stomach problems. Though I'm only in my 30s. I'm only a single test case, for what that's worth.
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
It's curious to me b/c I seem (in my paranoid mind) to be heading down the same path.

My father doused everything in Tabasco or crushed red pepper. I never liked either until just about 5-6 years ago. Scary.
 

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,234
1,722
126
I add Serranos, crushed Chillies, Habaneros, and Jalapenos to just about everything I cook.
I always ask for food to be extra hot and to get some extra crushed peppers or hot sauce on the side at Thai or Indian places.

I can eat Serrano's like candy ... though the same is not true of Habaneros ...
Anyhow, I am white and of European descent. Nobody else in my family eats spicy/hot foods. My folks order everything "mild", and they worry if it will be "too hot." I've been eating spicy/hot foods for about the last 15 years or so. I have never had any digestive problems beyond a little bit of burning, and that only happens if I go overboard on the spices.


I don't think there is any correlation between foods that score high on the Scoville scale and digestive/stomach/ulcer problems.
If there is, I'm gonna be in trouble ...
 

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
11,631
11
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I believe there is some correlation, in that extremely spicy foods will tend to cause ulcers and other digestive disorders to be more painful. I am not sure if that counts. I am also fairly certain that spicy foods tend to increase acidity.