Eat spicy food daily to lower death risk

Researchers from the Harvard School Of Medicine (Boston) say that test subjects who indulged in spicy meals three (3) times per week or more had 14 percent (14%) less of a chance of dying over the course of the study, when compared to subjects who only ate one spicy meal per week or less.

Nearly 500,000 Chinese people aged between 30 and 79 completed a questionnaire about their general health and consumption of spicy food, red meat, vegetables and alcohol. But they caution against linking any of these with lowering the risk of death.

Spicy food could be the ingredient to a longer life, according to a new study. Studies have found that their active components, capsaicin, might lower inflammation, have a positive effect on gut bacteria and weight, and even help fight cancer.

In terms of spicy food, the researchers found that the most commonly used spices for participants who ate spicy foods weekly were fresh and dried chili peppers.

There are many foods touted for their health benefits.

What Dr. Qi and his team found was that the more frequently someone ate spicy food, the less likely they were to die over the course of the study.

Nor did the researchers see any association between spice consumption and the risk of death due to diabetes or cerebrovascular disease in either men or women.

To try to get a better handle on some of these questions, an global group of researchers turned to 487,375 people who were participating in the China Kadoorie Biobank study, an effort that aims to track the causes of chronic diseases in the world’s most populous country.

They were enrolled between 2004 and 2008, and their health monitored for an average of seven years. Compared to people who ate spicy foods less than once a week, people who ate them just once or twice a week had a 10% reduced risk of death.

“Some of the bioactive ingredients are likely to drive this association”, the authors explained, adding that fresh chilli is richer in capsaicin, vitamin C and other nutrients. They also reduce the danger of death from certain conditions such as cancer and heart and lung diseases.

The authors warned against drawing definitive conclusions from the observational study and called for more research that may “lead to updated dietary recommendations and development of functional foods”.

“You shouldn’t look at the results of this epidemiological study and say, “This is what I should do”.

“Future studies should explore if confounding or effect modification by other drinking habits might play a part, as it is highly likely that drinks such as water or different types of tea are consumed in greater amounts among those with a greater chilli intake”, she said.