Dr. Martha Rivera, a pediatrician at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles, said she sees between five and six cases of children with gastritis daily.
\”We have a population who loves to eat the hot spicy, not real foods, and they come in with these real complaints,\” Rivera told KABC-TV.
Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency room physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said he believes that the flavoring coating the chips and snacks is what might be causing the stomach pH to change, rather than just the spiciness of the snacks. For example, he said he hasn\’t had a lot of people coming in doubled over from eating too much spicy salsa.
\”In the past, I had not seen any problems with snack food until spicy flavoring became more popular,\” said Glatter.
Glatter said it wasn\’t just the high fat or high salt content that the kids or adolescents crave but the actual burn of the spicy flavoring.
\”It\’s almost like a food addiction. They seek out the burn,\” said Glatter. \”It\’s a little thrill-seeking. \’It\’s like how much can I tolerate?\’ and I\’ve seen a number of children who eat four or five bags and come in screaming in pain.\”
Image: Spicy snacks, via Shutterstock
