Eating Spicy Food Linked To Living Longer

Eating spicy food has been linked to living a longer life.

A study analysed the food habits and health details of nearly half a million Chinese people.

It found those who ate spicy food six or seven days a week had a 14% reduced risk of dying compared with people who ate it less than once a week.

Eating spicy food was also associated with a lower risk of death from cancer, heart diseases and respiratory illnesses.

In women, it also corresponded with a reduced risk of death from infections.

The links were stronger in those who did not drink alcohol.

Researchers stressed the findings were correlational; eating spicy food may also be linked to other dietary habits, lifestyle choices or socio-economic status.

"For example, in Chinese cuisine the cooking of chilli pepper and the production of chilli sauce and oil usually requires more oil, and intake of pungent foods may be accompanied by an increased intake of carbohydrate-rich foods such as rice to relieve the burning sensation," they said.

The study, which is published in the BMJ, said spices have a long history of being used for flavouring, colouring and preserving food.

They have also been used for medicinal purposes.

The research, led by Peking University Health Science Center in Beijing, is in line with previous evidence on the health benefits of spicy foods.

The study authors said capsaicin is the main active component of chilli pepper.

Its qualities have been extensively reported in relation to anti-obesity, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-hypertensive effects.

Additionally, the antimicrobial function of spices, including chilli pepper, has long been recognised, they said.