Billed as a “hot tip” for cutting the risk of death from heart attacks and strokes, a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that people who eat chilies regularly have greater longevity.
But similar to various interpretations of scientific studies that suggest devouring more dark chocolate or drinking more red wine in the name of “health” — simply due to the presence of antioxidants — the results shouldn’t necessarily have any bearing on your eating habits.
In following nearly 23,000 Italian adults for more than eight years — some, but not all, heat lovers — researchers found that people who ate chili peppers at least four times each week had a 23 per cent lower risk of death overall, the Inverse reports. The risk of dying from stroke was more than halved, and death from heart attack was 40 per cent lower.
Chili pepper is commonly used in Mediterranean cuisine, the researchers note, but research was lacking in terms of the connection between its consumption and mortality risk. As with previous studies carried out in different parts of the world, which have also found associations between eating chili peppers and positive health outcomes, the benefits are thought to be related to capsaicin — the chemical compound responsible for a pepper’s degree of heat — but it’s unknown exactly how.
According to a 2017 study from the University of Vermont published in PLOS One , people who ate hot red chili peppers experienced a 13 per cent reduced risk of premature death than those who avoided them. These results were in line with a 2015 study published in the The BMJ in which Chinese researchers found that those who ate spicy food six or seven times a week had a 14 per cent lower risk of early death than people who ate chili peppers just once a week.
“Protection from mortality risk was independent of the type of diet people followed,” study lead author Marialaura Bonaccio, an epidemiologist at the Mediterranean Neurological Institute, told CNN . “In other words, someone can follow the healthy Mediterranean diet, someone else can eat less healthily, but for all of them chili pepper has a protective effect.”
Before you start shaking red pepper flakes on everything you put in your mouth, though, experts highlight that this is an observational study and, as such, can provide correlation but not causation. While nutrition researcher Ian Johnson commended the study for its “robust methods,” CNN reports, he also highlighted the fact that the scientists didn’t pinpoint the reason for increased longevity nor did they discover that upping chili intake led to improved health.
”This type of relationship suggests that chilies may be just a marker for some other dietary or lifestyle factor that hasn’t been accounted for,” he told CNN . “But, to be fair, this kind of uncertainty is usually present in epidemiological studies, and the authors do acknowledge this.”
So, carry on eating chili peppers because they add a depth of flavour to your food that would be impossible to achieve any other way. Your palate doesn’t require a study suggesting they may stave off premature death or reduce your chances of dying from a heart attack or stroke — in this case, taste is reason enough.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
