In the cold winter, many people enjoy eating chili peppers to ward off the cold. However, traditional medicine holds that while chili peppers can dispel cold, stop diarrhea, kill parasites, enhance appetite, and promote digestion, one's diet should emphasize the balance of the five flavors (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty). An excessive preference for spicy food can easily lead to an imbalance of yin and yang in the internal organs, causing illness.
An excess of lung qi from spicy food Spicy food has functions such as inducing sweat, promoting qi circulation, and invigorating blood. Consuming too much can easily lead to an excess of lung qi, consuming vital energy and yin, resulting in reduced immunity and making one susceptible to colds. This can manifest as "internal heat" symptoms, such as a sore and dry throat, bloodshot eyes, a hot and stuffy nose, a dry mouth and a sore tongue, as well as cracked corners of the mouth, nosebleeds, and toothaches.
Aggravation of damp-heat Overconsumption of spicy food can easily aggravate internal damp-heat, manifesting as skin acne, elevated blood pressure, worsening hemorrhoids, and nosebleeds.
Therefore, individuals in the following situations should be particularly mindful of reducing their spicy food intake appropriately in the winter:
1. People who are naturally thin. Traditional Chinese medicine posits that thin people often have a yin-deficient and heat constitution, frequently showing symptoms such as a dry throat, a bitter taste in the mouth, bloodshot eyes, a heavy head and light feet, and irritability. If they consume too much spicy food, these symptoms will worsen, leading to bleeding, allergies, and inflammation. [美食中国]
2. Patients with hyperthyroidism. Patients with hyperthyroidism are often in a state of high excitement, and excessive consumption of stimulating foods like chili peppers can aggravate their symptoms.
3. Patients with nephritis should avoid eating chili peppers. Research has shown that during the human metabolic process, spicy components are often excreted through the kidneys and can stimulate kidney parenchymal cells to varying degrees.
4. Patients with chronic gastrointestinal diseases, hemorrhoids, dermatitis, tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, and hypertension.