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Could Spicy Food Make You Live Longer?

Spice of Life



Researchers at Harvard crunched survey data spanning seven years from nearly half a million people in China, and found a small connection between longevity and how much spicy food they ate.

The article published in The BMJ journal said that people who ate spicy foods one or two days per week had a 10 percent decreasing in overall risk of mortality. Those who ate spicy foods three to seven times per week reduced mortality risk by 14 percent.

People with coronary artery disease, stroke or cancer were excluded from the study. The researchers did their best to control for factors like age, marital status, education, and physical activity.

Lu Qi, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the study's author, said while evidence shows it could be a good idea to add more chili to your meals, the results are far from definitive.

"It's a little bit early to recommend increasing spicy food in diet. We definitely need more data from other populations and clinical trials," he said.

The Pepper Connection



The study highlights a correlation, but it doesn't prove cause and effect. Critics point out that eating spicy foods could just be a marker of some other important factor. People who consumed spicy foods almost every day were more likely to be rural residents, for example.

Critics also worry that since all of the subjects live in China, the correlation might not transfer to other parts of the world.

"The effects are probably different across different populations," Qi said, "but biologically there should be no difference."

Qi adds that people who suffer from digestive disorders like stomach ulcers should be careful about spicing up their foods. Qi and his research team are in the early stages of planning clinical trials in China to look for stronger evidence of the connection.

Read More:



  • Spicy Foods Linked To Longer Life, Study Finds (Forbes)
  • Spicy Foods May Help You Live Longer, Says A New Study (CNN)
  • Are Spicy Foods a Recipe for Longevity? (MedPage Today)


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