Maybe we're just taste bud masochists, but we've definitely plowed through a whole bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos at least a couple times in life. Those crunchy chips are so damn spicy that it hurts -- hurts so good, that is.
But apparently they can actually, like, hurt you. As in, land you in the emergency room with ongoing stomach pains. Doctors at one hospital in Los Angeles say they are treating as many as five to six children every day for pains stemming from eating too many spicy snacks.
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According to ABC News, emergency rooms have been seeing an increasing numbers of children and adults (with the self-control of children) suffering from gastritis. The condition occurs when stomach lining becomes inflamed, often after eating of spicy chips and snacks -- including Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
One boy interview by ABC says he eats "between 20 to 30 bags of spicy chips and snacks a month." And he's apparently not alone.
"We have a population who loves to eat the hot spicy, not real foods, and they come in with these real complaints," Dr. Martha Rivera, a Los Angeles pediatrician says.
Dr. Robert Glatter, an ER physician in New York, told the news station that he hasn't seen people getting the same pains from more naturally spicy sources like, for example, salsa. He says he thinks its the spicy flavor coating on the snacks that's probably causing the painful condition.
"Parents should be aware of this. These products are not healthy and some children seem to become addicted," he told ABC.
Then again, if parents weren't already aware that Cheetos "are not healthy," they may be beyond anyone's help.
