Does eating spicy food help you live longer?

Eating spicy food may help you live longer, according to a new US study published in the journal PLoS ONE.

The Mirror, citing research from the Larner School of Medicine at the University of Vermont (USA), reported that eating chili peppers helps reduce the mortality rate, primarily from heart disease or stroke, by 13%.

In the study, researchers examined nutritional data from more than 16,000 Americans over a 23-year period and found that consuming chili peppers delayed death in these individuals.

Explaining why chili peppers may slow mortality rates, researchers believe that capsaicin—the main component of chili peppers—affects the body's potential receptor channels (TRPs).

Many TRP channels mediate the regulation of various sensations such as pain, heat, warmth, or cold, and vision. Some TRP channels are thought to function as microscopic thermometers and are used to sense hot or cold, activated by molecules found in spices such as garlic, chili peppers, and wasabi.

Chili powder helps fight cancer.

A recent study by a team of experts at Ruhr University (Germany) found that capsaicin, a component in chili peppers, is capable of forcing cancer cells into a state of self-destruction, including in cases of breast, colon, and spleen cancer.

Study authors Mustafa Chopan and Benjamin Littenberg say capsaicin in chili peppers is thought to play a role in cellular and molecular mechanisms that prevent obesity and regulate coronary blood flow. It also possesses antimicrobial properties that may indirectly affect the host by altering the gut microbiome.

Another study conducted in China and published in 2015 also showed that consuming pepper and chili was associated with a reduced mortality rate.

According to Thanh Nien newspaper