Why You Should Be:

Grass seed farmers burned their fields to eliminate unwanted strains of grass from polluting their crops.

The heat cleared the agricultural canvas for a new crop of specific seeds, not what the wind blew in.

Chili peppers do the same thing. Before they developed their internal heat, peppers were just another snack for animals to forage on, for bugs to spread fungus in.

The heat developed over time. A Northwest study with research links in Bolivia shows how it happened.

Insects bored into a chili pepper and left a fungus that grew quickly and killed the fruit’s seeds. The plant was defenseless until it developed the spicy heat we know today. The heat killed the fungus and chilies thrived.

A survey in Bolivia showed peppers in areas with high insect populations were hotter than plants growing where few insects lived. The plants’ heat is determined by the amount of insects they need to protect against.

Do we receive the same benefit by including chili peppers in our diets? [Read more…]