Maggie Q helps PETA Spice Up Your Life, Go VegetarianI’ve always loved PETA’s sexy ad campaigns, and their ongoing Spice Up Your Life is great advice for American bedrooms.  We can’t be hot peppers all the time. Some of us will never be chock full of capsaicin, because it’s not in our natures.

It’s true that the sensually hottest cultures like Brazil or countries in the Caribbean love hot peppers. What we imagine as an innate sensuality comes from local customs, cultural influences and the edicts of religion in the society.

At the same time, chili peppers work to make the body more sensual in several key ways that resonate with today’s women, wherever we live.

• Capsaicin, a chemical found in fiery peppers, increases circulation to get blood pumping and one’s skin to flush.  Hot chilies stimulates nerve endings by dilating blood vessels so you’ll feel more turned on and vitally open to receive sexual pleasure.
• The natural endorphins in hot chilies are painkillers. Elevated serotonin levels also improve mood.
• Australian researchers say that people who regularly consume peppery hot foods fall asleep more easily, sleep more deeply, and have more energy the next day. Interrupted sleep is a major libido-killer in women.

This week’s NYTimes Magazine cover story Sweet & Viscious | Is Sugar Toxic? is a major feature on the deadly nature of sugar. I’m halfway through it and not surprised with the aggressive, anti-sugar message, given our own extensive reporting on sugar.

Curious, I popped over to Science Daily, exploring the relationship between chili pepper and sugar.