Effects of Chili Pepper on Inflammation and Glycemic Control in Southern New Mexico

Concentration of resting and fasted blood glucose measured in mg/dl,Concentration of resting and fasted insulin measured in pmol/L,Concentration of circulating C-reactive protein reported as mg/dl.,Concentration of circulating interleukin (IL)-1 beta reported as pg/ml.,Concentration of circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) reported as pg/ml.,Concentration of circulating interleukin tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha reported as pg/ml.

Diabetes is a major health epidemic facing the United States and New Mexico. Currently, 11.6%
 of the US population (38.4 million) has diabetes, and 38.0% of US adults have prediabetes. It
 is estimated that around 70% of prediabetics will develop diabetes in their lifetime. In New
 Mexico, 48% of adults are at least prediabetic, and 12% of adults in southern New Mexico
 adults have diabetes. Moreover, major health disparities challenge the southern New Mexico
 region. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is generally linked with chronic inflammation,
 obesity, insulin resistance, and ultimately insulin dependence via pancreatic β-cell failure.
 Lessening pathological inflammation, a critically important factor that contributes to
 diabetes, can improve the disease. Furthermore, 89.8% of diabetics in the US are overweight
 or obese, this is a major risk for prediabetes and T2DM, as it causes insulin resistance and
 pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, Weight loss in people with T2DM and prediabetes has been
 demonstrated to affect glycemic control and metabolic parameters significantly. The purpose
 of this proposed study is to explore and establish the beneficial effects of 10 weeks of
 powdered chili pepper consumption on several parameters related to diabetes and prediabetes.
 This research will demonstrate how powdered chili pepper consumption can improve systemic
 inflammation, glycemic control, and body composition, and will provide valuable preliminary
 data for future funding to further examine these effects in Type 2 diabetics. This research
 is innovative because chili peppers are an already widely accepted food in Southern New
 Mexico. Demonstrating the beneficial improvements in diabetes-related markers using a popular
 food in the area may help to establish better treatments and protocols for an area that has
 health disparities. The first aim is to establish if 10 weeks of powdered red or green chili
 pepper consumption can significantly improve markers of inflammation, inflammatory capacity,
 and antioxidant capacity. The second aim is to establish if 10 weeks of powdered red or green
 chili pepper ingestion has a significant effect on resting blood glucose and insulin levels,
 connecting peptide (C-peptide) levels, and Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin
 Resistance (HOMA-IR). The third aim is to determine whether powdered chili pepper consumption
 for 10 weeks improves resting body composition and metabolic rate. This research is
 innovative because chili peppers are an already widely accepted food in Southern New Mexico.
 Demonstrating the beneficial improvements in diabetes-related markers using a popular food in
 the area may help to establish better treatments and protocols for an area with health
 disparities. Overall, this study will provide valuable insight and background knowledge for
 the use of chili peppers for the treatment of prediabetes and the prevention of diabetes
 progression.