Scientists have made a shocking discovery that eating hot red chili peppers can help prolong your life.
People who eat hot red chili peppers may be more likely to live longer, a new study suggests.
In the study, researchers found that eating these peppers was
associated with a 12 percent lower risk of death, particularly from
heart problems or stroke, over the 19-year study period.
However, some experts say the findings should be viewed with caution.
It's unclear "if actually eating chili peppers is what caused
the results, or if simply people who eat chili peppers are more likely
to engage in overall healthier lifestyle behaviors," said Keith
Ayoob, a nutritionist and associate clinical professor at the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, who was not affiliated
with the study.
There are many reasons to include chili peppers in your diet; for
example, they are full of nutrients and antioxidants. However, the study
has only suggested that peppers might help you live longer; more
research is needed to show exactly why people who ate red chili peppers
were less likely to die over the study period, Ayoob told Live Science.
"We really can't 'overinfer' from the results," Ayoob said.
In the study, the researchers looked at data from more than 16,000
adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES) between 1988 and 1994. NHANES is a yearly survey
conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that
collects information about Americans' health and eating habits. The
survey included a question about whether the participants had eaten hot
red chili peppers in the past month (participants were instructed not to
include ground red chili pepper). All participants who indicated they
had eaten any amount of hot red chili peppers in the past month were
considered to be chili pepper consumers.
The researchers found that, after a median follow-up period of
nearly 19 years, 22 percent of the people in the study who reported
eating hot red chili peppers had died, compared with 34 percent of those
who did not report eating the peppers, according to the findings
published on Jan. 9 in the journal PLOS ONE.
The researchers ran a few different analyses on their data, taking
into account factors such as the participants' education levels,
ethnicities, diets and lifestyles. After they adjusted for these
factors, the results still showed that the people who ate hot red chili
peppers had a lower risk of dying during the study than those who did
not consume hot red chili peppers.
An earlier study from China reported similar findings linking chili
peppers to a lower risk of death, said Mustafa Chopan, a medical
student at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
and the lead author of the study. The new results suggest that the
association between the consumption of hot red chili peppers and lower
mortality holds up in a Western population, he said.
Although the findings suggest that hot red chili peppers are a
beneficial component of the diet, it's unclear why these peppers may be
associated with a lower risk of death in the study participants, the
researchers noted.
However, the researchers suggested several ideas for how the link could work.
One possible explanation is that a compound called capsaicin — one
of the principal components of chili peppers — may play a role by
binding to certain receptors, which may, in turn, help protect against
obesity and lead to a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, according
to the study.
Capsaicin also has anti-microbial properties that could alter the
bacteria in the gut, protecting against obesity and cardiovascular
disease, the researchers noted. Finally, hot red chili peppers contain
numerous other nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamin C and a compound
that the body converts into vitamin A, all of which may contribute to
the beneficial effects, according to the study.
Chopan noted that the study does not prove that eating hot red
chili peppers makes you live longer. To prove a cause-and-effect
relationship, researchers would need to conduct a study that placed
subjects randomly into one of two groups: a group receiving hot red
chili peppers to eat, and a group receiving a placebo to eat.
Researchers could then track whether the two groups showed a significant
difference in health or mortality. [The Odds of Dying from Shark
Attacks, Tsunamis & Dozens of Other Causes]
The study had several limitations, the researchers noted. For
example, the participants reported their dietary habits only once, when
they first completed the NHANES survey, and it's possible that their
dietary habits changed over the course of the follow-up period. In
addition, participants might have incorrectly recalled their diet, or
interpreted "hot red chili peppers" differently on the survey.
-LiveScience
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