Spicy food might lower risk of death from several diseases: study

Eating spicy food regularly might cut risk of death from cancer, heart diseases and diabetes, according to a new study of over 485,000 people in China has claimed.

An international team led by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences studied the link between consumption of spicy foods as part of a daily diet and the total risk and causes of death.

The prospective study involved 487, 375 participants between the ages of 30 to 79 gears who enrolled between 2004-2008 and were followed up for morbidities and mortality.

All participants answered a questionnaire about their general health, physical measurements, and consumption of spicy foods, and red meat, vegetable and alcohol.

The study excluded people who had a history or cancer, heart disease and stroke and factors such as age, marital status, level of education and physical activity were accounted for.

There were 20,224 deaths during a median follow-up of 7.2 years.

As against participants who consumed spicy foods less than once a week, those who ate spicy foods once or twice a week had a 10-per cent reduced risk of death.

Also those who ate spicy foods 3 to 5 and 6 or 7 days a week ran a 14 per cent reduced risk of death.

The researchers said what this meant was that participants who ate spicy foods almost every day ran a relative 14 per cent lower risk of death as against those who consumed spicy foods less than once a week.

According to Lu Qi, an associate professor at Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of the study which was published this week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), there was growing evidence from mostly experimental research to show the benefit of spices or their active components on human health. But there was little evidence evaluating consumption of spicy foods and mortality from population studies.

The study found that fresh and dried chili peppers were the most common spicy sources.

The study pointed to the benefits of capsaicin, a bioactive ingredient in chili peppers, which had earlier been linked to health perks such as increased fat burning (See: Chilli peppers could help induce weight loss).

Experts, however, emphasize the need for more research before a connection between these ingredients could be scientifically established.

"It's an observational study within a single culture," said Dr Daphne Miller, associate clinical professor at the University of California San Francisco and author of The Jungle Effect: The Healthiest Diets from Around the World, Why They Work and How to Make Them Work for You, CNN reported.

She added there were many variables associated with consumption of spicy food that had not been accounted for.

The study itself cited limitations, which included the lack of information about other dietary and lifestyle habits and also how the spicy food was prepared or cooked.