Cary Cavender, MD, a gastroenterologist practicing at Memphis, Tenn.-based Le Bonheur Children's Hospital said spicy snack chips can cause severe stomach pain and vomiting, which brings about 100 children a month to his specialty practice, WebMD and Medscape reported.
Here are the key details to know:
1. Dr. Cavender told WebMD that he tends to treat school-aged children and teens for stomach problems brought on by the spicy chips, but he's treated children as young as two years old.
2. The chips are often part of a diet that is too high in sugar and fat, and low in fiber.
3. Martha Rivera, MD, a pediatrician cited in the article, said the chips are more acidic than the gut's natural environment, which has a pH of five. The chips have a pH of three.
4. Dr. Rivera said a third of her patients who come in with stomach pains got them from eating spicy chips.