Mixed
Habitual consumption of spicy foods (specifically chili peppers) is inversely associated with total mortality, with high-frequency consumers (6-7 days/week) showing a 14% relative risk reduction compared to low-frequency consumers (<1 day/week).
If you enjoy spicy foods, eating them frequently (almost daily) is associated with a lower risk of death from all causes, particularly cancer, heart disease, and respiratory diseases. This benefit was observed in a large Chinese population study, suggesting that incorporating chili peppers into your regular diet may support longevity, provided you do not have specific digestive conditions that prevent you from tolerating them.
Compared with participants who ate spicy foods less than once a week, those who consumed spicy foods 6 or 7 days a week showed a 14% relative risk reduction in total mortality.
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort (n=487,375), long follow-up (median 7.2 years), rigorous adjustment for confounders, but remains observational.
Source
Consumption of spicy foods and total and cause specific mortality: population based cohort study
Jun Lv et al. · BMJ · 2015
DOI 10.1136/bmj.h3942
More from this paper
- The mortality benefit of spicy food consumption is significantly stronger in individuals who do not consume alcohol compared to those who do.Good
- High-frequency spicy food consumption is inversely associated with mortality from specific causes: cancer, ischemic heart disease, and respiratory diseases.Good
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