MEXICO – Scientists at the University Center for Biomedical Research (CUIB) of the University of Colima (UCOL) conducted an investigation in rodents to determine if capsaicin (responsible for the spiciness) could affect tolerance insulin and glucose.

In an interview with the News Agency of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), the physiologist Miguel Huerta Viera said that the study used capsaicin which decreases hemoglobin, ie iron in blood.

The researcher said that mice were genetically predisposed to iron overload in the body (hemochromatosis). Iron is found primarily in red blood cells that carry oxygen to all body cells and are necessary, but having abundant red blood cells there is an increase in mortality from heart attacks and thrombosis.

He added that the addition of capsaicin to the high-iron diet, in diabetic rats, reduced hemoglobin, cholesterol and triglycerides, so these results suggest that capsaicin would be suitable for the treatment of elevated hemoglobin in patients.

Therefore, he said, the iron cannot be neither too low nor too high, must be controlled because if it is low it causes anemia and fatigue.

The specialist said iron from animal harms humans because it accumulates in excess, while the plant-derived iron, found in seeds such as beans, is preferable.

“Capsaicin may help reduce hemoglobin levels in people who already have genetic alterations and have high iron in the body,” he said.