Frequent eating of spicy food linked to substantially reduced risk of death

Chili contains a chemical called capsaicin, which gives them a distinct burn.

The study qualified their findings that aside from consuming spice laced food, there may be other factors that lengthen the life expectancy of a person.

Associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, Lu Qi and her team, inspected questionnaire data of participants in the China Kadoorie Biobank from 2004 to 2008, Time Magazine reports.

In an editorial accompanying the study, Nita Forouhi, a researcher at the epidemiology unit of the University of Cambridge, said that the Chinese study has a number of strengths but that the dietary survey contained only “crudely measured” categories (red meat, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits) so it was unable to take into account other dietary habits that might have impacted the results, and that the quantity and strength of the chili consumed was also unknown. Unsurprisingly, the association between spicy foods and good health was even stronger in those who don’t drink alcohol…

The researchers said more studying has to be done to know definitively if spicy food provides a protective effect.

Do you sprinkle chili flakes on basically all dishes and always opt for the hottest curry?

They analyzed the spicy food consumption of almost half a million people age 30-70, across 10 regions in China, excluding those with cancer, heart disease and stroke. There were significant reductions seen in deaths attributable to cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease.

During a median follow-up of 7.2 years, there were 20,224 deaths.

“There are certain foods that are triggers for people with incontinence or overactive bladders, including spicy foods, which doctors have identified as common irritants for women”, Kristen Burns, an adult urology nurse practitioner at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, said.

Some like it hot, and a new study finds that folks who favor spicy foods might also have a lower risk of premature death.

However, research in the past has also shown the ill-health effects of capsaicin. Is that not the greatest thing you’ve ever heard?

So before you make a run for the hot sauce, more research is needed to qualify what spicy entails and the various ingredients, which the current study does not break down.

This is the big caveat.