Consumption of Spicy Food Is Associated Inversely with Risk for Death

Paul S. Mueller, MD, MPH, FACP reviewing Lv J et al. BMJ 2015. Forouhi NG. BMJ 2015.

During 7 years, people who ate spicy food at least once weekly were less likely to die of any cause.

Evidence suggests that consuming spices has health benefits. Whether daily consumption of spicy foods affects health outcomes, including mortality, is unclear. In this prospective, population-based study of 199,000 men and 288,000 women (age range, 30–79 at enrollment) in the U.S. and China, researchers assessed the associations between regular consumption of spicy foods and total and cause-specific mortality during a median 7-year follow-up.

A total of 11,800 men and 8400 women died during follow-up. After adjustment for multiple variables, consumption of spicy foods was associated inversely with risk for all-cause death. Compared with participants who ate spicy foods rarely (<1 day weekly), those who ate spicy foods more often were 10% to 14% less likely to die. Similar results were observed for men and women. Finally, consumption of spicy foods was associated inversely with risks for death caused by ischemic heart disease, cancer, and lung disease.

Citation(s):

Lv J et al. Consumption of spicy foods and total and cause specific mortality: Population based cohort study. BMJ 2015; 351:h3942.

Forouhi NG.Consumption of hot spicy foods and mortality-is chilli good for your health? BMJ 2015; 351:h4141.