We are all well aware of the impact our diet has on our health. Many of us know that eating a healthy, balanced diet packed with fruits and vegetables can help lower our risk for certain conditions.
But what is perhaps less known is the potential health benefits of a specific fruit, mostly used as an ingredient to add a spicy kick to meals.
According to various studies, chilli peppers could hold the key to a healthy heart among other benefits.
It is thought this is mainly due to a compound found in chillies known as capsaicin, which is known to have cholesterol lowering properties and even lower the risks of cancer and arthritis.
One scientific paper, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2019, concluded that people who eat chilli peppers on a regular basis appear to lower their risk of dying from heart disease.
As part of the study, researchers analysed the diets and health records of more than 22,000 people living in southern Italy and followed them for an average time period of just over eight years.
It was discovered that people who ate chilli peppers more than four times a week were about one-third less likely to die of heart disease than those who rarely or never ate the spicy-hot peppers.
This protective benefit was found whether or not the participants also followed a Mediterranean-style diet or a less healthy diet.
The study authors continued: “In a large adult Mediterranean population, regular consumption of chilli pepper is associated with a lower risk of total and cardiovascular disease (CVD) death independent of CVD risk factors or adherence to a Mediterranean diet. Known biomarkers of CVD risk only marginally mediate the association of chilli pepper intake with mortality.”
Separate research, published in Angiology journal in 2021, analysed four existing studies that looked at spicy food (chilli pepper, chilli sauce, or chilli oil) consumption and the link between cardiovascular disease.
Combined the studies looked at 564,748 participants over an average duration of 9.7 years.
The study authors found that spicy food was linked to a lower risk of all-cause death as well as cardiovascular disease-related death.
They noted: “The pooled data suggested that compared with people who did not regularly consume spicy food, regular consumers of spicy food experienced a 12 per cent lower risk of all-cause mortality.
“Moreover, spicy food consumption was associated with significant reduction in the risk of death from cardiac diseases, but not from cerebrovascular disorders.”
They added: “In conclusion, available epidemiological studies suggest that the consumption of spicy chilli food is associated with reduced risk of all-cause as well as heart disease-related mortality. Further studies in different populations are needed to confirm this association.”
Another study, found in Molecules journal in 2022, said that capsaicin which is found in chillies could help prevent obesity. It added that capsaicin had anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
The study said: “Capsaicinoids act against high cholesterol levels and obesity, show anticancer effects, and are used to treat arthritis pain.”