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In reading I've come across a word 'efficacy' for the result that an edible brings to your body. Such as, we say:

Peanut has hot efficacy.


Is it a right use? I feel the word 'effect' is generally more understandable.

Which word is more precisely used for this i.e. the effect of an edible that comes to body after that edible is eaten?

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The word "efficacy" describes how well something something performs a particular task. You would not use it in place of "effect" here. An example use of efficacy would be

The efficacy of standard antibiotics is reduced when bacteria have had previous exposure to similar compounds.

From what I can tell, you want to describe the effect that a food has on your body. The idea behind your particular example is utterly perplexing. I can't see how anyone would associate heat with peanuts; it may be something that doesn't work cross-culturally.

It sounds like you are trying to say something like

Peanuts have a warming effect on the body when eaten.

That is perfectly grammatical, but I can't imagine anyone in a culture related to mine believing or saying that.

Perhaps you are using "hot" instead of an intensifying adverb, like "highly." In that case, I suggest an example like

Peanuts are highly effective at providing protein and fat at low cost.

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efficacy or effect

In reading I've come across a word 'efficacy' for the result that an edible brings to your body.

Peanut has hot efficacy.

In this case efficacy would be the wrong word to use and also, you are trying to use it in the wrong sense.

Efficacy is the the ability of a method (which we can ignore in this context) or of a medicine to achieve/produce an intended result. Therefore the food being talked about must have a medicinal effect. Turmeric would be a good example. As far as I am aware peanuts have no medicinal abilities.

So lets now do some substitutions and see if the sentence works

Turmeric has hot ability to produce the intended result.

I do not think you are trying to say that the Turmeric (Peanut) is sexy, spicy, exciting or warm. Therefore it would be wrong to use the word hot.

However I appreciate that in the Far East certain foods can be considered Hot (But not spicy). For example in Chinese traditional medicine terminology, (Sang Huo) Hot, (Han) cold, (Wen Xing), neither hot or cold and numerous other states which I will not list. I cannot be positive but I believe Peanut is Wen Xing.

efficacy noun; the ability, especially of a medicine or a method of achieving something, to produce the intended result:Cambridge English Dictionary

hot adjective sexy, spicy, exciting or warm Cambridge English Dictionary

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