Bird's Eye Chiili/Kanthaari Mulak

Image: thaicooks.com

Hot chili peppers.... Never has there been a food to inspire both wonder and wariness, love and hate. If just the sight of some hot chilies in your Thai dish makes your stomach spasm, I have news for you: not all chilies are created equally. In fact, some are actually good for your stomach and can help heal it. But first let’s start by looking at the benefits of adding this wonder of nature to your diet:

• You’ll sleep better. Recent studies prove that consuming just a little chilli pepper (fresh or dried) each day helps us fall asleep, and stay asleep longer. And adding a little fresh-cut chili to your evening meal may also help you feel more awake the next day. (For more on this, see: Eat Chili and Sleep Better!)
• Your heart will be healthier. Studies show that eating chili regularly helps keep your heart healthy by lowering cholesterol, keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range, and allowing more blood to reach the heart. See: The World's Healthiest Foods
• Your body will be able to fight inflammation, a leading cause of disease. Everyone these days seems to be talking about inflammation—not the type you get when you get a cut or a pimple, but inflammation inside our bodies and cells, the kind that can’t be seen, preventing diseases like arthritis and diabetes, and possibly cancer. In fact, studies have shown that those cultures whose diets includes plenty of hot chillies have lower rates of certain types of cancer, including colon and stomach cancer. See: Benefits of Chili/Capsaicin.
 

Source: thaifood.about.com