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Page 72
| Cold Comfort |
| Capsaicin is also responsible for chili peppers' congestion-clearing action. The peppers' heat stimulates secretions that help loosen mucus in your nose and lungs, providing the same relief as many drugstore cold treatments. |
| Tips: |
| Chili peppers can irritate your face and eyes; be sure to wash your hands after cutting them. Cooking will destroy much of the vitamin C in chili peppers, but it won't affect the beneficial capsaicin. Also, be sure to eat chilis' thin, spongy membrane; it contains much of the capsaicin. |
| F.Y.I. |
| Contrary to popular belief (and many decades of medical advice), chili peppers do not cause ulcers. In fact, they seem to help prevent them, by stimulating the flow of gastric juices that protect the stomach lining, kill bacteria, and promote digestion. |
| Chili peppers may even help you lose weight! Studies have shown that just a teaspoon of chili sauce can raise your metabolic rate by 25 percent for hours after a meal. |
| Mangoes |
| Aid digestion |
| May help protect against cancer |
| May help prevent heart disease and stroke |
| Mangoes are among the most popular of tropical fruits because they taste so decadently good, not because they're so good for you. A super-healthy way to "have your cake and eat it too," their sweet, juicy flesh packs a nutritional wallop. |
| Antioxidant Riches |
| One mango provides about 1,000 IUs of beta-carotenemore than 150 percent of the RDA. It also contains 95 percent of the RDA for vitamin C. Together these disease-fighting antioxidants do double battle against the free radicals that can damage healthy cells and cause cancer. Antioxidants |
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