Tuesday, February 27, 2007

New mexico professor finds world's hottest chili in Assam - Need any more proof that India is HOT?

Once I went to Santa Fe* and went to a local restaurant and placed an order for Chili Enchilada. The waitress asked me how do I like it; Red, Green or Christmas? Well, in the true Indian tradition of nodding the head in all directions, when confused, I ordered Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised when the platter came with one side green chili sauce and on the other red. Boy was it hot! Wait, its gonna get even hotter.

According to Guinness world records, New Mexico professor finds world's hottest chili pepper. Its called Bhut Jolokia (also called Naga Jolokia) from Assam, India and it rates at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units, which measures hotness (Number of times the chili extract needs to be diluted in sugar water before no trace of hotness is tasted). This chili pepper is nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the variety it replaces. Professor Paul Bosland says Bhut Jolokia translates as ghost chili. The ghost chili grows mostly on hilly terrain and is considered a staple of every meal in the northeast. Next time you see Andhra chilli pickle in Indian grocery store, don't assume that its the "hottest" thing in the world.

After Guinness nod to Indian chili, woman to set record eating it

* Santa Fe is state capital of New Mexico and I drove past 'downtown' looking for it! Its amazing how they could maintain the low profile hamlet feel of this tiny state capital

Monday, February 12, 2007

Can Resveratrol help you age slower - Dont gulp the red wine yet

Resveratrol, a new medical fad? We thought it was anti oxidants that helps us fight the wrinkles.
David Sinclair of the Harvard Medical School has found that resveratrol increases the activity of a protein called SIRT1. Resveratrol significantly increases the lifespan of yeast and mice. There is hope that it could do the same for humans. A number of beneficial health effects, such as anti-cancer, antiviral, neuroprotective, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and life-prolonging effects have been reported in non-human species (e.g. rats). Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and as a constituent of red wine but based on extrapolation from animal trials, apparently not in sufficient amounts to explain the “French paradox” that the incidence of coronary heart disease is relatively low in southern France despite high dietary intake of saturated fats.

Millions of dollars are pouring in to the research of Resveratrol in the search of cure for "disease of aging" and Sinclair and his team is in the forefront of that research.
Wine molecule slows aging process