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Chillies come in a wide range of flavours and degrees of "hotness".  The need not dominate food and can be subtly, to deepen flavour.  Regular chilli eaters often grown to like their food hotter. 

Hotter chilli peppers contain more capsaicin, the source of their warming, stimulant properties, so less needs to be eaten for medicinal benefits.  For example, about 2 teaspoons of fresh jalepenos a day is enough to benefit the circulation or the body's airways. 

Health benefits: Discourages blood clots and stimulates circulation, clears airways in coughs and colds, aid to digestion, may relieve pain and raises calories burning rate. 

Cautions: Heavy use of chillies may increase the risk of stomach cancer.  Do not touch the eyes or any cuts when handling fresh chillies.  Opinion varies on whether people with peptic ulcers can tolerate chillies. 
 

 Uses
Chillies are usually deseeded before adding to a recipe.  If a dish tastes too hot, it can be "cooled" by adding a substantial amount of natural yogurt.  Before adding chillies to a recipe, assess their "hotness" by a quick taste. 

Choosing & Storing
The spiciness and heat of chillies vary widely.  Hungarian paprika and Spanish pimento are the mildest and are pretreated to reduce their capsaicin content.  Dried chillies and chilli powder retain their pungency, some beta-carotene and little or not vitamin C, lessening their antioxidant activity.  Chilli sauces are a good standby.