This historiography essay aims to evaluate scholarships of different historians rooted in the origins and exchanges of a particular food, in this case, chili peppers.

Chili Peppers in Human Health

Chili, the word coined by the Spanish conquerors of the Columbian Exchange, is the frequently used crop around the world for flavoring. The Columbian Exchange was set to sail by Christopher Columbus in 1493, in which, the Spanish discovered the new world (The Spice of Life). During the discovery, chili peppers were one of the main crops that were back to Spain. This discovery of the chili pepper contributed to the start of the Spice Trade that began in Spain’s neighboring country, Portugal. The chili pepper soon spread across the world, where early records of the chili pepper have been seen to aid in health benefits. However, several scholarships have indicated that the consumption of chili peppers is responsible for human health risks. Despite these scholars arguing for the risk of chili peppers, chili peppers are rather useful in providing many beneficial health advantages. This essay aims to evaluate the sources of scholars discussing the beneficial uses of chili peppers in their property of a chronological timeline.

Mexico, the homeland of the chili pepper, has been the source of the worldwide use for its medicinal and human benefits since the Spice Trade. The documentary, “The Spice of Life – A Dash of Daring” produced by BBC Productions highlighted the significance of the chili pepper in the Spice Trade. During 1493, Christopher Columbus journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the New World. In his journey, his acknowledgment of bringing the chili pepper back to Spain was the initial start of the Spice Trade. It was not until the Portuguese that wanted to venture out and find their resources of these chili peppers that initiated the globalization of the chili pepper. The Portuguese had decided to route their way into India to capture their spices while also bringing the chili pepper along with them. The chili pepper migrated down into Africa, hence, the growth of chili peppers in Northern Africa. The chili pepper route reached into India, then Japan, and so on throughout the rest of the world (The Spice of Life). The Spice Trade essentially became the foundation of the chili pepper globalization. This globalization soon introduced the use of chili peppers as a product of medicine and contribution to human health. Although Spice Trade may seem trivial, it is crucial in addressing the larger implication of the use of chili peppers in history.

The Spice Trade soon reached China, where chili peppers became an essential part of the Chinese diet. According to a book written by Nancy Chen, “Food, Medicine, and the Quest for Good Health” introduces the medicinal use of chili peppers. Before the introduction of chili peppers, during 1028 – 480 B.C., physicians in China proposed the humoral medical theory. This theory stressed the use of various types of hot, dry, wet, and cool foods to restore health and balance in one’s body. The yin and yang principles were used to illustrate the sense of balance. The yin principles targeted foods that helped in cooling down the body. While the yang principles focused on foods of heating the body, specifically peppers (Chen, N., 2009). In China, records for after the chili pepper trade, have noted that the pepper was used as medicine in aiding the digestion of stomach and curing illnesses. It became one of the essential comfort foods, healing, and longevity for the Chinese. The early uses of chili peppers to aid in human health indicates the respected use of chili peppers. There are not many cases in which chili peppers were harmful to human health before the early records. This daily use of chili peppers is an important staple to the human diet and life. While, the scholarship does recognize the historic use of chili peppers as advantageous, the technological and scientific advancement influences scholars to attribute the consumption of chili peppers to different cancers and illnesses. However, even in the modern era, cultures of the Chinese incorporate the Sichuan pepper, a type of chili pepper, into their daily diets. It is used to cool down the body and repeal the warm and humid air of China (The Spice of Life). These early records and the continual use of chili peppers play a big part in dietary factors. It has continuously provided advantageous benefits to human health.

Recent scholars have identified the possible relationship between the consumption of chili peppers and an increased risk for cancer and an implicated death. A scientific journal, “High Spicy Food Intake and Risk of Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Case-control Studies”, written by Yu Chen and his team that discusses the correlation between the consumption of chili peppers to cancer.2 In this study, the researchers studied 28 studies that were previously done in Asian regions and 11 from non-Asian regions of the relationship to gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, gallbladder cancer, and other cancers. Their results identified that there was a strong positive correlation between the consumption of chili peppers and cancer (Chen, H., 2017). While Chen’s analysis of various studies may indicate that the studies used were accurate, it would not be accurate enough to apply to every individual that consumes a certain amount of the chili. Although a meta-analysis is accurate in gathering data to find correlations, the participant’s data of diets, lifestyles, family history, and prior illnesses needed to be taken into consideration. In contrast, the advantageous factors of chili pepper are frequently used as medicine in treating illnesses and cancer. The non-periodical, “Chili Pepper: Herbal Fire for Digestion and Circulation” by Candace Hunter and Sue Sierralupe identifies the similar debate of the consumption of chili peppers decreases death rates and combats illnesses. The medicinal use of the chili provides massive health benefits in contrast to the causation of cancer. While certain evidence may indicate that chili peppers cause cancer, there is no definite answer besides the benefits. The pepper prolongs life by increasing circulation, reducing inflammation, numbing effects, antiseptic, improving dental health, nutritious factors, herbal properties, and improves blood flow (Chen, N., 2009; Hunter and Sierralupe, 2015). These properties are forms of increasing longevity and health. Although Yu Chen’s study focused on the correlation of cancer to chili peppers, this form of longevity is meant to implicate the pepper to not be the cause of any certain illnesses. The mentioned cancers are solely based on the consumption of chili and not entirely the question of the individual’s lifestyle, health, and diets.

Similarly, some scholars believe that people with diets consisting of consuming daily amounts of chili peppers will decrease their mortality rates. According to the scientific study, “Consumption of spicy foods and total and cause-specific mortality: population-based cohort study” by Jun Lv and his team, they have identified their scholarship of the disadvantages of consuming chili peppers. They have done a population comparison study to evaluate themortality rates of those who consume peppers. The results of the study displayed that there were 11,820 deaths within 7.2 years according to the participant’s chili consuming diets (Lv, J., 2015). These scholars do recognize the beneficial aspects that the chili peppers can provide, but they had strongly suggested that the consumption of chili peppers were increasing mortality rates before the implementation of the study. However, chili peppers can provide nutritional properties that can increase longevity and decrease death rates. The pepper provides massive amounts of Vitamin A and C, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, and antioxidants that are important to the human diet (Hunter and Sierralupe, 2015). In contrast, chili peppers are helping the human population in their needed consumption of vital vitamins in their diets. While Lv and his members may have strongly emphasized that chilis do have an aversive effect on human health, their results have contradicted their hypothesis. Through their results, it was shown that there were no significant associations between spicy foods and mortality rates because they could not give an observational result from this study. Rather yet, they have concluded that people have different diets and one food cannot assume the health of an individual (Lv, J., 2015). To Lv’s study, this can indicate that the dietary basis of the population studied may have instead had higher mortality rates and benefited the population in longevity by the consumption of peppers. This supports the position that chili peppers improve human health.

The chili pepper revolution in its origins and exchanges have been seen throughout its evolutionary history and contribution to the recent medical world. The evolutionary process of the chili has contributed to more uses than just consumption and flavoring. The chili prolongs human life and combat various illnesses. While some scholarships may suggest that chili peppers are bad for human health, the advantages are very significant in the historic and recent findings of the medical field. Chili peppers are beneficial than the proposed research that the chili is detrimental to human health.

Works Cited

• Chen, Nancy N. Food, Medicine, and the Quest for Good Health. Columbia University Press, 2009. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/chen13484.

• Chen, Yu-Heng et al. “High Spicy Food Intake and Risk of Cancer: A Meta-analysis of Case-control Studies.” Chinese medical journal vol. 130,18 (2017): 2241-2250. doi:10.4103/0366-6999.213968

• Hunter, Candace, and Sue Sierralupé. “Chili Pepper: Herbal Fire for Digestion and Circulation.” The Practical Herbalist, Holistic Medicine Library, 3 Nov. 2015, https://www.thepracticalherbalist.com/holistic-medicine-library/chili-pepper-herbal-fire-for-digestion-and-circulation/

• Lv, J., L. Qi, C. Yu, L. Yang, Y. Guo, Y. Chen, Z. Bian, et al. 2015. “Consumption of spicy foods  and total and cause specific mortality: population based cohort study.” BMJ : British Medical Journal 351 (1); h3942. doi10.1136/bmj.h3942

• “The Spice of Life – Chilies: A Dash of Daring.” BBC Production. 1983,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P0Fkf1N97Q.