What’s the skinny on spicing up your meals?

Spicy foods — some people swear by them and some swear they are dangerous. So, which is it?

“Patients often tell me they’re giving up spicy foods to get healthy,” said Edwin K. McDonald IV, MD, a University of Chicago Medicine gastroenterologist and trained chef.

“Last time I checked, having a little Tabasco sauce won’t ruin your life.”

Here, McDonald sheds some evidencebased light on eating spicy foods to separate fact from fiction.

ARE SPICY FOODS GOOD FOR YOU?

Of course they are! Capsaicinoids, which include the compound capsaicin, are the chemical components of peppers that create their spicy taste. Research over the past couple of decades has demonstrated that capsaicinoids — and thus, spicy foods — also possess several health benefits.

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF SPICY FOODS?

Eating spicy foods may help you live longer. According to an extensive population-based study published in The BMJ journal in 2015, “Compared with those who ate spicy foods less than once a week, those who consumed spicy foods 6 or 7 days a week showed a 14% relative risk reduction in total mortality.” The association between spicy food consumption and total mortality “was stronger in those who did not consume alcohol than those who did.”

It’s OK to eat your heat-enhanced meals, but cut down on the margaritas with your spicy tacos.

CAN EATING THIS WAY CAUSE ULCERS?

Spicy foods don’t cause ulcers — they may actually help ulcers.

As a gastroenterologist, I diagnose people with ulcers all the time. When I tell someone they have an ulcer after a procedure, almost everyone is quick to blame spicy foods. People frequently ignore the fact they are taking ibuprofen around the clock or that they may have a bacteria called H. pylori (one of the world’s most common causes of ulcers).

Contrary to popular belief, multiple studies show that capsaicin actually inhibits acid production in the stomach. If you’re worried about an ulcer, you can visit a gastrointestinal doctor. When seeing your doc, make sure you have a conversation about any anti-inflammatory medications you are using.

DO SPICY FOODS CAUSE HEMORRHOIDS?

No, but they may irritate anal fissures.

CAN THEY HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

They can, according to a meta-analysis of 90 different studies that looked at the role of capsaicin in weight management. The analysis found spicy foods reduce appetite and that they increase energy expenditure. So, yes! Spicy foods can help with weight loss.

ARE SPICY FOODS DANGEROUS?

It depends on how spicy. You’ve heard of pepper spray, right?

CAN SPICY FOODS CAUSE STOMACH PAIN?

Although they don’t cause ulcers, spicy foods can trigger abdominal pain in some people. One study specifically highlighted that frequent consumption of spicy foods can trigger upper gastrointestinal symptoms in some people with dyspepsia (or, indigestion). For people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), spicy foods can also trigger symptoms.

WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?

Spicy foods are healthy.

They don’t cause ulcers, but be careful if you have irritable bowel syndrome, dyspepsia, or inflammatory bowel disease. Basically, if spicy foods give you stomach pain, think before you eat.

Regarding ridiculously spicy foods with warning labels, eat them at your own risk.

UChicago Medicine marks anniversary of trauma center and Violence Recovery Program

The University of Chicago Medicine treated nearly 19,000 adult trauma patients in the first five years following the launch of a Level 1 adult trauma center and Violence Recovery Program on May 1, 2018.

Through April 2023, more than 21,000 trauma patients were treated at UChicago Medicine’s main campus on the city’s South Side. In the same five-year time frame, the Violence Recovery team worked with 7,761 trauma patients to help them transition back into the community.

About half of trauma patients come from the 12 ZIP codes surrounding the Medical Center.

“Through the thousands of adult and pediatric patients our hospital has treated, our trauma program, like a rising tide, has lifted many boats within our health system and in the community,” said Selwyn O. Rogers Jr., Section Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. “We’ve saved lives and brought compassion to the work that we do with integrity. Providing adult trauma care has promoted collaboration within UChicago Medicine and made our health system a stronger 24/7 operation. And our proficiency at trauma care is leading to others seeking our partnership.”

Prior to 2018, the South Side had not had a hospital with an adult trauma center for 27 years. In December 2015, UChicago Medicine announced plans to establish a Level 1 adult trauma center, building upon the existing Level 1 pediatric trauma center and burn center programs.

“This is a true victory for the community,” Candace Henley, a local health activist who would become a volunteer member of

UChicago Medicine’s Community Advisory Council, said at the time of the center’s 2018 opening. “Community voices played a vital role shaping the hospital’s plan to increase access to critical services and meet the growing needs of its neighbors and patients.”

“Community voices continue to be crucial as we envision the future of trauma care and violence reduction,” said Brenda Battle, UChicago Medicine’s Chief Equity Officer. “We cannot address violence without addressing its root causes, including racism, poverty and failures of public policy. That means working with local partners to make sure our patients live in neighborhoods where they can find safety and opportunity.”

Violence Recovery Program staff members listen to and talk with patients, call their family and friends, and connect them with resources like food or mental health counseling. The program has strengthened ties with local organizations as well. Violence Recovery specialists have been attending the Metropolitan Peace Academy, an 18-week program that helps hospital staff members work more effectively with street outreach organizations.

“Our partnership with UChicago Medicine’s trauma center and Violence Recovery Program reflects the realities and complexity of the crisis of gun violence,” said Steven Perkins, director of field instruction for Metropolitan Peace Initiatives and its Peace Academy. “Tackling the crisis requires multidisciplinary and multilayered approaches and engagement — throughout our neighborhoods, within our institutions, and down to the street level where meaningful change is already happening.”

“The work accomplished at our trauma center these past five years is the result of strong collaboration, both within our medical system and with our neighbors and community partners,” said Health System President Tom Jackiewicz. “While we’ve increased the level and types of care we provide, we will continue to find ways to improve access to our care in the South Side and beyond.”

Reducing trauma is still the goal

At the five-year anniversary of the opening of the University of Chicago Medicine’s Level 1 adult trauma center, we sat down with Selwyn O. Rogers Jr., MD, MPH, Professor of Surgery and founding director of UChicago Medicine’s trauma center, to discuss how the team is caring for the community, preventing violence and their hope of reducing trauma.

Q: THE NEED FOR A LEVEL 1 TRAUMA CENTER ON THE SOUTH SIDE WAS CLEAR. WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE IN THE BEGINNING?

The trauma center is not an emergency department. It is people, policies and programs working together to create a system of care to take care of the most severely injured. It was clear to me there were going to be many challenges — some logistical, some resource-related.

What I didn’t realize was the other side: building trust with the community in solidarity to stand up this Level 1 trauma center. When I was meeting people in the community, I was faced with extreme hostility. People felt the University had turned a blind eye to the needs of the community for so long that the relationship was damaged, tattered and broken.

Q: WHAT PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN CREATED TO PROMOTE A HOLISTIC VIEW OF RECOVERY?

UChicago Medicine developed a Violence Recovery Program to run parallel to the clinical care the trauma team delivers to patients and their families. The program addresses wraparound services like psychological safety and support for victims of violence (as well as their families).

But how do you create a sense of primary prevention so that people aren’t shot, stabbed and assaulted in the first place? That is really hard. You’re addressing poverty, racism, discrimination, historical injustices, redlining and governmental policies. Those are really tough things to solve. But just because they are tough doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to solve them.

Q: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? HOW DO YOU HOPE THE CENTER’S EFFORTS WILL HELP PUT AN END TO AN EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN CHICAGO?

Building a trauma center is kind of like how we view firehouses today. At the start of the 1900s, fires were a common cause of death in America. Then we created public health measures to address safety features and added fire stations everywhere and in every city in America. Today, there aren’t that many fires and far fewer people die from them. But we want to keep our fire stations open.

What if trauma care was like that? You want to keep a trauma center open because you never know. But what if we, as society, really committed ourselves to reducing trauma? That would be a beautiful thing.

UChicago Medicine Trauma Patient Volume 21,387 May 2018-March 2023

Trauma Types

Violence Recovery Program

If you’ve ever wondered whether to go to an emergency room or an urgent care clinic, you’re not alone. Here are some things to consider.

Emergency Room

You should call 911 or come right to the emergency room (ER) if you’re systemically sick. That’s when an illness affects your entire body and you have severe pain or sudden onset of severe symptoms, a fever that won’t break, or “something doesn’t work,” like you’re unable to move an arm or leg or breathe normally. This includes:

» If a person has a severe injury or allergic anaphylaxis reaction.

» If they pass out or experience any signs of a possible stroke or heart attack.

While you or the victim may have a hospital of choice, an emergency may warrant going to the nearest ER for immediate treatment. ERs are the best place for actual emergencies.

SHOULD YOU CALL 911?

The American College of Emergency Physicians has useful guidance on when to call 911, but common reasons include:

» The condition is life-threatening and requires attention as soon as possible.

» You are unable to move yourself or the victim without causing harm or further damage.

» You are physically or emotionally unable to drive or be transported to an ER.

Urgent Care

Unless a condition is life-threatening, a trip to urgent care is generally a better use of a patient’s time and resources to treat injuries, fever, infections and other ailments. Urgent care often has a shorter wait time and costs less than a traditional hospital emergency room visit. And many, like our Dearborn Station, Homewood and River East urgent care locations, offer convenient benefits such as walk-in visits (no appointment needed) and on-site lab and X-ray.

UChicago Medicine urgent care locations are staffed by experienced physicians who treat both adult and pediatric patients and are available seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

If necessary, urgent care providers can also connect you with a higher level of care.

URGENT

URGENT AID FOR LOWER-LEVEL EMERGENCIES

If you’re in the south suburbs, UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial offers an additional option to consider before heading to the ER. In our south suburban urgent aid locations, physicians provide ER-level care for lower-level emergencies — injuries, viruses and other illnesses — 24 hours a day, every day, in an urgent care-like setting.

If a stable person needs higher-level imaging such as an ultrasound or CT scan, urgent aid clinics may be a better fit than an urgent care.

The cost of an urgent aid visit is the same as the emergency department of UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial for the same level of care. The co-pay for emergency services will apply to your urgent aid visit, which may be higher than the co-pay for services provided by urgent care centers that are not part of a hospital’s emergency department.

UChicago Medicine Dearborn Station 47 W. Polk St.

UChicago Medicine River East 339 E. Grand Ave.

UChicago Medicine Medical Group — Homewood 17805 S. Halsted St.

See a list of reasons to visit urgent care and save your spot online at UChicagoMedicine.org/Urgent-Care or scan the code with your device.

*These locations include UChicago Medicine Medical Group providers and physician practice groups. UChicago Medicine Medical Group is comprised of UCM Care Network Medical Group, Inc., and Primary Healthcare Associates, S.C. UChicago Medicine Medical Group providers are not employees or agents of The University of Chicago Medical Center, The University of Chicago, UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial, UChicago Medicine Dearborn Station, UChicago Medicine Medical Group – Homewood or UChicago Medicine River East.