Research finds: Eating spicy food regularly can reduce the risk of cancer and death! But the premise is that you have to eat it right!

Some people love spicy food, while others don’t like spicy food at all. Many people who don’t eat spicy food think that eating spicy food will make them get angry, cause acne, or irritate their stomach.

But in fact, people who don’t eat chili peppers are really missing out! More and more studies have found that eating chili peppers regularly is good for the body!

01

Eating spicy food regularly reduces risk of death

In 2021, a meta-study on eating spicy food was published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The analysis found that people who love spicy food may live longer and have a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases.

The researchers counted the participants' consumption of different types of chili peppers (including red peppers, black peppers, fresh peppers, chili sauce and chili oil). The results showed that people who often eat spicy food have a higher intake of spicy food than those who never or rarely eat spicy food.

13% lower risk of all-cause mortality

17% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease

8% lower risk of cancer death

20% lower risk of death from stroke

Researchers analyzed that eating chili peppers reduces the risk of death, which may be related to the antioxidant "capsaicin" contained in chili peppers. Capsaicin can promote fat metabolism, increase energy expenditure and improve blood sugar control, reduce the risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome, and thus reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. [1]

02

Lower risk of diabetes

In 2019, a study published in the Journal of Diabetes, which included samples of more than 200 million Chinese people, showed that a preference for spicy food was negatively correlated with the risk of diabetes. In other words, people who like spicy food have a lower risk of diabetes. [2]

The study pointed out that the areas in China that love spicy food are mainly concentrated in the southwest, with Sichuan as the center, and the provinces with low diabetes prevalence are also mostly concentrated in the southwest, and the two roughly overlap. The reason for this coincidence is partly due to capsaicin , the main spicy ingredient in chili peppers.

Studies have found that capsaicin can stimulate pancreatic B cells to secrete insulin, improve glucose metabolism and insulin resistance, and thus lower blood sugar levels. Capsaicin has a certain effect on improving diabetes and its complications. [3]

03

Reduce the risk of high blood pressure

In July 2021, Professor Li Liming of the School of Public Health of Peking University and others analyzed the data of nearly 54,000 people in Tongxiang, Zhejiang, my country in the China Chronic Disease Prospective Research Project and found that eating spicy food regularly can prevent high blood pressure. The study included a total of about 54,000 adults aged 30 to 79, of whom 44.4% had high blood pressure and 12.3% ate spicy food at least once a week, but this phenomenon was only seen in women.

Among drinkers, those who ate spicy food every day had only a 2% lower risk of developing high blood pressure compared with those who never ate spicy food; but among non-drinkers, those who ate spicy food every day had a 28% lower risk of high blood pressure.

Researchers pointed out that the specific mechanism by which eating spicy food reduces the risk of high blood pressure remains unclear, but it may be related to capsaicin contained in chili peppers. [4]

04

Reduced risk of cancer

In August 2015, a joint study conducted by Oxford University, Harvard University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and published in the British Medical Journal showed that people who eat spicy food every day have a lower risk of premature death, and eating spicy food regularly can especially reduce the risk of death from cancer, heart disease and respiratory diseases.

Research data showed that people who ate spicy food once or twice a day were 14% less likely to die than those who ate spicy food less often. Regular consumption of spicy food was especially associated with a lower risk of death from cancer, heart disease, and respiratory disease. [5]

05

Can protect cardiovascular

Professor Zhu Zhiming, director of the Department of Hypertension Endocrinology at Chongqing Daping Hospital, obtained this result through experimental research. In 2015, Professor Zhu Zhiming explained in an interview with Health Times that capsaicin has a protective effect on blood vessels. In animal experiments, capsaicin has the effect of dilating blood vessels.

Professor Zhu Zhiming found that capsaicin promotes the production of nitric oxide in the vascular endothelium by acting on its specific target, the capsaicin receptor (TRPV1), thereby dilating blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. [6]

06

Improve obesity and fatty liver

In addition to the benefits of long-term consumption of chili peppers on cardiovascular metabolism, a series of studies by Professor Zhu Zhiming of Chongqing Daping Hospital also found that dietary capsaicin has certain benefits in improving obesity, fatty liver, abnormal blood sugar, and atherosclerosis, but the mechanisms of action are different. [6]

07

People who like spicy food live longer

In 2015, researchers from Peking University published a study in the British Medical Journal on "Consumption of spicy food and total and cause-specific mortality" involving nearly 500,000 Chinese people. The study found that people who like spicy food live longer than those who don't like chili.

People who ate spicy food six to seven times a week had a 14% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those who ate spicy food less than once a week.[7]

08

More beneficial intestinal flora

A study titled "The Time-dependent Effects of Capsaicin on Intestinal Health" published in Food Science in 2014 pointed out that short-term consumption of chili peppers is beneficial to the body. It can accelerate the body's metabolism, promote the growth of beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria in the intestines, inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria such as Escherichia coli and enterococci, and promote the renewal of various systemic tissues in the body, thereby promoting the body's health. [8]

09

Stimulate appetite

The main function of chili peppers in people’s daily diet is to stimulate appetite. Chili peppers contain digestive enzymes that can help break down proteins, and some of their ingredients can stimulate the brain to secrete more endorphins, thereby increasing appetite. Therefore, for people with poor appetite, eating some spicy food can help stimulate appetite. [9]

This article is compiled from:

[1]ManpreetKaur, et al., (2021). Association of Pepper Intake with All-Cause and Specific Cause Mortality - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpc.2021.100301.

[2] Zhao Z, Li M, Li C, et al. Dietary preferences and diabetic risk in China: Alarge-scale nationwide Internet data-based study. Journal of Diabetes. 2020;12:270-278.https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-0407.12967

[3] Zhang Shiqi, Tang Lanlan, Sun Jinyi, Yang Juan, Hui Yonghai. Research progress on hypoglycemic effect and mechanism of capsaicin[J]. Food and Fermentation Industries, 2020, 46(13): 262-269. DOI: 10.13995/j.cnki.11-1802/ts.023790.

[4]Association between frequency of spicy food consumption and hypertension: a cross-sectional study in Zhejiang Province, China. Nutr Metab (Lond), 2021, 18(1): 70.

[5]Consumption of spicy foods and total and cause specific mortality: population based cohort study BMJ 2015; 351 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h3942 (Published 04 August 2015)Cite this as: BMJ 2015;351:h3942

[6] 2015-01-22 Health Times: “Eating chili peppers can protect your cardiovascular system”

[7]Lv J , Lu Q , Yu C , et al. Consumption of spicy foods and total and cause specific mortality: population based cohort study[J]. Bmj British Medical Journal, 2015. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h3942

[8] Food Science 2014: "Time-dependent effects of total capsaicinoids on intestinal health"

[9] 2017-10-13 Health Times: “Zhang Daqian loves spicy food”

Source: Health Times

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