Eating this anti-inflammatory fruit commonly used in traditional medicine and food may give you a longer life.
Eating chili peppers may increase lifespan and lower the odds of dying from cancer or cardiovascular disease, a study suggests.
Researchers in past have shown that the capsaicin in chili pepper acts as an antioxidant, helps regulating blood glucose, reduces inflammation, and has anticancer powers.
Capsaicin is the active compound of chili pepper that gives this plant a spicy taste.
The research team looked at 4,729 studies to see if there is any link between eating chili pepper and a reduced risk of death caused by cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
The data analysis showed that four of studies involving 570,762 subjects met their criteria.
The results showed that those who ate chili pepper regularly were 26 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than non-consumers or those who hardly ate chili pepper.
The chili pepper eaters also had a 23 percent lower risk of dying from cancer and a 25 percent reduced risk of dying from any disease.
Dr Bo Xu, the study’s senior author, said:
“We were surprised to find that in these previously published studies, regular consumption of chili pepper was associated with an overall risk-reduction of all cause, CVD and cancer mortality.
It highlights that dietary factors may play an important role in overall health.
The exact reasons and mechanisms that might explain our findings, though, are currently unknown.
Therefore, it is impossible to conclusively say that eating more chili pepper can prolong life and reduce deaths, especially from cardiovascular factors or cancer.
More research, especially evidence from randomized controlled studies, is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.”
Dr XU pointed out that those four studies had some limitations including lack of specific information on participants heath and some missing factors that might affected the results.
Moreover, the type and amount of chili pepper consumed by individuals were all different in each study.
Therefore, it is not easy to conclude how often, what type, and how much chili pepper needs to be consumed in order to get the related health benefits.
The study was presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2020 (Kaur et al., 2020).
