Thursday Aug 6, 2015 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study recently published in the British Medical Journal suggests that eating peppers or spicy food frequently may help lower risk of pre-death.

The study found eating spicy food a couple of times a week was associated with 10% lower risk of death, compared to not eating spicy foods. Eating peppers 3 to 7 times per week was associated with 14% reduced risk of death.

For the study, nearly 500,000 Chinese men and women aged 30 to 79 were followed for an average 7.2 years during which 20,244 deaths were recorded.

The study led by researchers from Oxford University, Harvard University and other academic organizations also revealed that men and women eating fresh peppers were at a reduced risk for leukemia, cancer and heart disease.

The study per se does not prove that eating peppers or spicy food is responsible for the reduction in the risk of premature death.  However, the findings were consistent with other studies indicating that the main ingredient in pepper called capsaicin an effect against obesity, inflammation, oxidation and cancer.

Among men and women who did not drink alcohol, the association between consumption of spicy food  or peppers and risk of death is more significant.   (David Liu)

Photo credit: Takeaway via wikipedia