Could eating spicy food help you live longer?

ConclusionThis large, well-designed observational study adds to the evidence that certain spices such as chilli pepper may have a beneficial effect on health. But this study does have limitations that need to be taken into account.The study found that people in China who ate a diet that included spicy food (mainly from chilli peppers) at least once a week were less likely to die during the study period than those who ate spicy food less often. These results applied to men and women, even after taking account of factors that affect the risk of death, such as age. The study is part of an ongoing investigation into the effect many factors have on human health, including diet. The amount of data collected on individuals, including detailed information about their regular diet, activity levels, occupation, family health history and other factors, means the researchers have a better chance of finding an effect from specific factors in the diet. Also, the size of the study means the researchers have enough data to show clear trends, with less likelihood the results are down to chance alone.However, even with the amount of detail collected about people in the study, we cannot be sure other factors did not have an effect. For example, we don't know how people cooked the chilli peppers, so we don't know whether they may have used more or less cooking oil, or other spices, or ate more rice or other carbohydrates to "dampen down" the effect of the hot chilli. Additionally, the ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology Source Type: news