A new population-based cohort study was conducted to examine the link between regular consumption of spicy foods and the mortality rate. The study was published in BMJ.
The study was performed in China with the help of China Kadoorie Biobank. The participants included 199,293 men and 288,082 women, aged 30 to 79 years, and with no known complications such as cancer, heart disease and stroke. The participants are also enrolled in the Biobank in 2004 and 2008.
The study was conducted without any patient involvement. A baseline survey was conducted in 2008 with the question: "During the past month, about how often did you eat hot spicy foods?" Options for answers were: never or almost never, only occasionally, 1 or 2 days a week, 3 to 5 days a week, or 6 or 7 days a week.
The participants who selected the last three categories were further asked: "When you eat spicy foods, what are the main sources of spices usually used?" Multiple choices allowed fresh chili pepper, dried chili pepper, chili sauce, chili oil, and 'others' or 'don't know.'
After the study, they found out that those who consume spicy food for 2-3 days a week has a 10 percent reduction of overall mortality. Eating spicy food more than two days per week was only linked to a slight additional increase. Those who ate spicy foods three to five times and six to seven times per week all had a 14% reduced risk of kicking the bucket. People who didn't drink alcohol seemed to have the most benefit, as well.
The study only shows that there is a correlation between eating spicy foods and the mortality rate, though it doesn't show any causative effects between the two.
"Spicy food or its active components have been related to improved inflammation, reduced body adiposity, or improved lipid profiles," says Lu Qi, author of the study. "In addition, spicy foods may also affect gut bacteria which has been related to various chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. However, we know little about why these may occur. More studies are definitely needed to clarify the mechanisms," concluded the author.
