Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about healthy eating and longevity, it has just been discovered that there is a connection between eating spicy food and longer lives. Because foods containing spicy vegetables and spices like jalapeno, habanero and cayenne have become so common in the United States due to the popularity of ethnic cuisine; Americans have therefore developed a high tolerance for eye watering spices. A new study conducted by Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health suggests that spicy food can not only only extend your life, but also prevent certain diseases.
The study which took a total of 7.2 years consisted of a study of 487,375 participants between the ages of 30 to 79 enrolled in the China Kadoorie Biobank from 2004 to 2008, according to CBS News. After gathering data from the participants that researchers reportedly waited seven years, then followed up to find that 20,224 of their participants had died. These participants were those who had a less frequent consumption of spicy foods. The overall analysis showed that people who consumed spicy food at least once a week had a 10 percent lower death risk compared to those who consumed spicy food everyday, and had a 14 percent lower death risk. More excitingly, the study found variations in effectiveness of different kinds of spices.
Chili pepper was the most commonly used spice throughout the study. During their analysis, researchers found that chili pepper consumption resulted in the lower risk of contracting cancer, diabetes and ischaemic heart diseases. Further, the researchers attributed this disease-resistant chili pepper finding to it’s richness in essential vitamins like Vitamin C and capsaicin. Though, the study concluded that spicy food does in fact have the ability to extend a persons life, it does have some exceptions. Recently, lead author of the study Lu Qi, made a statement about individuals with gastrointestinal issues and the dangers of spicy food consumption.
“For those who are affected by digestive disorders such as a stomach ulcer, I would be cautious about eating spicy foods.”
Outside researchers have examined the study and feel that though the conclusion shows promise in a definitive theory, additional research is required before doctors can begin prescribing spicy food as a preventive diabetes and heart disease remedy. Nita Forohoui form the University of Cambridge, recently made a statement of the importance of continual research on spicy food as it is related to health.
“Future research is needed to establish whether spicy food consumption has the potential to improve health and reduce mortality directly or if it is merely a marker of other dietary and lifestyle factors. The added contribution of spicy food intake to the benefits of a balanced healthy diet and healthy lifestyles also remains to be investigated.”
The study was published in the BMJ Medical Journal on August 4th of 2015. The study concluding the following about spicy food.
“…The habitual consumption of spicy foods was inversely associated with total and certain cause specific mortality, independent of other risk factors of death.”
[Image via Fox News]
Spicy Food May Help You Live Longer And Prevent Certain Chronic Diseases is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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