Believe It or Rot –
July 25, 2018 – A Memphis teen had to go through gut-wrenching surgery to remove her gallbladder, and her mom is blaming it all on spicy snacks. Rene Craighead said her 17-year-old daughter, also named Rene, loves Hot Cheetos and spicy Takis so much so that she eats whole bags of them. “She loves them. Every time I go out she says, ‘Bring me back some Hot Takis, bring me back some Hot Chips,’” Craighead told Memphis station WREG TV. “I want to make her happy, so I brought them back. She was eating big bags and would take them to school with her.” But she says her daughter’s love of the spicy chips had unintended consequences: The girl started feeling sick to her stomach. Doctors who examined the teen ordered she go into surgery and have her gallbladder removed. Dr. Cary Cavender, a gastroenterologist at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, told the station he commonly sees patients with gastritis, the inflammation of the stomach lining, and ulcers. He believes spicy chips can exacerbate those conditions.
