i would be interested to know if it is healthy for white people to eat a lot of spicy food...like every day of the week. is there any known issues about white people eating a diet that contain a lot of spice.
I'm sure an 'Indian' diet can be very healthy and the benefits of many spices proven - though others will be far better qualified to expound its benefits. (Though as with most cuisines some dishes will be far 'healthier' than others.)
All I'd add is that is it probably not a good idea to suddenly completely switch diets, but gradually build up the number of Indian dishes eaten each week otherwise our Western stomachs could be prone to gastritis!
"white people" ? surely this should be "people" unless you are suggesting there is some fundamental difference other than race ?
Steve
Hello stan
I have to say that I find this question rather strange. Perhpas I don't follow what you are trying to ask. As Steve AskCy says, people are people. They can eat whatever they/their digestive system/their body gets used to. Highly spiced food can be just as bad for Indians as for anyone else, whaever their skin colour.
I have never heard of people's ability to digest food depending on the colour of their skin!
Mamta
i know it sounds like an odd question and i apologise if someone finds it rather offensive. the reason why i asked it is because a black afro caribbean girl i would with claims that spicy food is bad for 'white people' and that they should not eat chillies and spices because they lack some type of digestive enzyme -- which indians and black afro caribbean people have.
when she made this claim i too found it bizarre.
Hello Stan
You have to tell her that she is misinformed unfortunately ;-)!
Thanks for the Reply Stan (when I first saw the title I was about to delete the post !) I believe things like Chilli have chemicals in them that have an affect on the body, but I would think its the same for everyone. When it comes to 'spices' mostly they have good uses and are used for medicine and general health giving purposes.
What you do have to consider maybe things like using nutmeg/mace/cloves in large quantities as they maybe more toxic to the system (everyones regardless of colour)
The only thing I can think of ever seeing that might suggest any difference between say African and White European when it comes to food was about putting weight on. The television programme suggested that where African women would generally put weight on around the hips , European women would put it on around the stomach and chest and went on to say that it didn't cause as much problem for the heart etc when it was collecting at the hips... how true this is however is a different matter....
** Just been googliing and it would appear that chilli is actually very good for you in many ways ! It also seems to suggest that eating vast quantities are not good for you (which is the same for anything) and most of the listed 'possible' side affects are down to impurities that might get into chilli powder mixes **
Steve
Claim that white people lack some digestive enzymes??........what an absurd thought....unless they belong to a different sub-species or have undergone mutation(just joking). Humans have evolved together and they have the same enzymes.
most people in SE Asia are lactose intolerant, so not such a daft question, just a little crudely put.
When I went to India (and stayed with an Indian friend, I was totally immersed in Indian culture, including food. Apart from Dehli belly, I was soon overwhelmed by having Indian food all day long. It felt a bit like I was drowning, not being able to get my 'western fix'. My Indian friend even made me a bland roast chicken and veg in a white sauce, but that didn't seem what I needed either.
On returning to the UK, and my cooking, I noticd I was using spice, in form or another in most dishes, Indian or otherwise, so even cottage/pie has coriander, cumin and chilli in it in this household.
So I think the answer is, Indian food can be eaten by Westerners everday, but I don't eat a heavy curry every day, there are so many other dishes which are light and lightly spiced. Being able to get fresh Indian produce also helps a lot, here.
Anyway, happy holidays to everyone, speak in the New Year.
"but I don't eat a heavy curry every day"
Absolutely agree! Most Indians do not eat heavy 'curries' everyday. In fact, everyday food is generally quite simple unless you are catering for guests.
I've been cooking and eating Indian food three or four times a week wince 1982! We also eat spicy Chinese food frequently. Our doctor thinks that our huge intake of ginger and garlic has worked wonders for out cholesterol levels.
Phil
I've always enjoyed eating 'curry', even as a child curry was always my favourite meal of the week -- sometimes twice a week. Eventually I started making my own curries using Patak curry pastes, and well, my knowledge of curry -- at the time -- ended right there. Then one Christmas someone bought me an Indian cookbook, it came in a box with some small spice samples in bags, I can't remember the name of the book, but from then onwards I started learning what curries really are and how to make them without relying on shop-bought powders and pastes. That was about 18 years ago and I've been eating curry/Indian food nearly every day of the week since.
I am white caucasian and I really don't think that one particular cuisine is meant for a certain race of people. I think our palettes get used to eating certain foods, but that's not to say that we can't adapt. A typical example is that I find the food I was brought up on to be extremely bland and lacking in something, now when I eat a roast dinner or some other traditional British dish I feel it needs spicing up -- by the way, have you ever tried sprinkling some dried dill on your roast potatoes? :-)
I think that the girl you work with who made these comments is wrong, and maybe she was being a little pretentious.
.. I've has thyme, rosemary, garlic and many other things on my roast potatoes but not dill...(only because we rarely have it in the house)
Steve
I share your reactions to much British cookery, Andrew. I grew up in Scotland on a diet of mince and tatties, overcooked brussel sprouts and other horrors.
I had my first Indian meal in a Punjabi restaurant in Edinburgh when I was 17: it was a revelation. I'd never tasted anything like it. But I figured that it was probably impossible to cook the stuff myself.
Then came the first Madhur Jaffrey cookbook in 1982. That changed everything. I still have my copy, and I'm still using it. And now we have Mamta Gupta, bless her.
I've slowly come round to non-spicy food of late, though, partly because I've learned a thing or two about French cookery here in France.
While there are clearly cultural differences relating to spices (the French are very wary of spicy food, which is why their Indian restauarants are no good), but it's hardly likely that there is any racial basis for differencs in reactions to spices.
Phil
I found your message regarding 'white people' very amusing, if slightly offensive. You can eat curry every day with no problem, I do and I'm white. Guess what.... Nothing happens, it just tastes good. You silly person lol !
Stan was quoting someone else, and I'm sure is not trying to be offensive.
Spices contain mostly carbohydrate (coriander seed is 55% carbs, 18% fats and 12% protein, according to one reference), the aroma being derived from a few per cent of highly aromatic chemicals. So the only things are bodies may not be familiar with are the latter chemicals, as we have enzymes to break down all the rest. As these chemicals are very similar to some found in European herbs and spices, (the same chemical is found in cardamom and bay leaf, for eg) I doubt whether spices are responsible for anything much.
However, many Indian dishes have garlic, ginger and chillies, which may be in excess compared to a 'normal' European diet, which may be based on blandly cooked veg and meat, (although black pepper contains at least a dozen aromatic chemicals, more than most spices) and Europeans seem to throw it on everything (me included!). So I am at a loss to pin a 'problem' on any of the ingredients ised in Indian food. Maybe its all in the mind?
HNY everyone!
"Lot" of indian food.... amusing. Anything in excess is not good ---even medicine. Even an Indian does not eat Indian food daily, a change is needed now and then, a pizza or McDonald maybe.
To agree with Rajeesh most are living in a more complex culinary society than our forefathers.
Someone not used to eating highly spiced food might not intially tolerate it because the stomach lining will not be used to be producing the different required enzymes however the body should quickly adapt.
Some intolerances as Lapis suggests can be genetic and run in families such as intolerance to lactose and gluten.
Some races do seem more prone to alcohol dehydogenasion. How much of this is genetic or how much due to society and culinary acclimation. How often do you see chinese putting milk in their tea or making and eating cheese!
the enzyme thing, I think, is a red herring. We have all the enzymes we need to cope with most foods; after trying some new (to me!) Indian ingredients, I didn't suddenly have an unnatural reaction!
Is it all down to what we are used to? Tradition? I have never eaten (nor ever want to eat) a McD's anything, yet I'm sure a few wouldn't do much harm, though having to eat them all the time would. This has nothing to do with lack of enzymes, its basic nutrition.
For me, a touch of spice in most food is pleasant, and it may reduce my salt intake, which I am told is worth reducing. As I grow older, I am tending to use less spice in things, mostly down to understanding how to use them correctly.
Yes Lapis I think lactose and gluten 'intolerance' is not really relevant to the opening posters question.
Surely under the Ayurveda tradition and modern research many spices, especially fenugreek, ginger, cumin and saffron actually aid the digestive process as well as having other health benefits.
I'm not a fan of Ayurveda tradition, I'll leave that one there!
I'm not convinced of the other findings.
"And in most of India, it is lack of funds which is the deciding factor for many."
Not strictly true Lapis. Majority of the Hindu population of India is vegetarian because of their beliefs, not because of lack of funds. When money is a factor, people eat meat occasionally, not become vegetarian completely. They often add vegetables like potatoes/other vegetables/dals to meat, or made the gravy thinner, to make it go further. Such mixed dishes have became part of the delicacies of Indian cuisine in time.
I grew up as a vegetarian, because meat was not allowed in our house. To kill to eat was not an option, either in our house or in my extended family. Occasionally my father, who ate meat, was sent some by friends who cooked it in their house. He was not allowed to eat it in the family plates. If he did, they were ?cleaned? with hot ashes. Now the new generation is more likely to eat meat, they are becoming more cosmopolitan, less likely to follow the old traditions. Even many Jains eat meat nowadays. I do believe that our ancestor ate meat extensively, they were hunters. Even God Rama is said to have gone out hunting for a deer to feed his wife and brother (long story of the epic Ramayana where his wife was abducted while he was hunting).
You are right about using less spices as one gets older. I do the same, as do many people of my age. Perhaps our stomachs are not strong enough! Mind you, I have never liked over spiced food, even when young.
I do feel that anyone can eat any type of food, whatever their colour/race, though they may need acclimatisation to new tastes. You do miss what you are used to. After living in UK for 40 years and getting used to eating very cosmopolitan food, I do miss non-Indian food when I go to India for a long break.
I am surprised that you do not believe in Ayurveda Lapis! A lot of it is based on sound facts and works really well. It has become less respected because everyone in India considers themselves an Ayurvedic practioner and gives medical advice, which of course doesn?t work!
I have a book (somewhere) which shows a map of the states of India, and the percentage of meat eaters within that state. The figures vary from around 15% to above 60%, and cannot represent the population differences (of Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Christians, etc) in any way. In some states, 'most' people questioned said they ate meat at some time.
This does not sound like religious beliefs, but poverty.
I cannot begin to tell you how I do not trust anything to do with Ayurveda principles. I have no wish to discuss this, as I have no wish to upset anyone, I value this site and all its contributors too much. But...
A 2004 study found toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic in 20% of Ayurvedic preparations that were made in South Asia for sale around Boston and extrapolated the data to America. It concluded that excess consumption of these products could cause health risks. A 2008 study of more than 230 products found that approximately 20% of remedies (and 40% of rasa shastra medicines) purchased over the internet from both US and Indian suppliers contained lead, mercury or arsenic.
Traditionally the toxicity of these materials are believed to be reduced through processes such as samskaras or shodhanas (for metals), which is similar to the Chinese pao zhi, although the Ayurvedic technique is more complex and may involve prayers as well as physical pharmacy techniques. Rigorous evidence that the metals may be rendered nontoxic is not available, and case reports describe adverse effects to these metals.
I fully understand where you are coming from Lapis. These unscrupulous medicine makers have done untold damage to a perfectly good system of medicine. I am not sure what percentage of modern drugs such people have also managed to contaminate or made from useless ingredients in poor countries, but it is not low in places like India. Let's leave it at that :-).