Eating Chili Peppers Four Times A Week Lowers Risk Of Heart Attack By 40%, says Research

Got a thing for spice? Well, now with science-backed research, enhancing the flavors of your food by using chili peppers might not be a terrible thing, after all.

Capsicum, an active ingredient in chili, is rich in phytochemicals and boasts of antioxidant properties. What’s more, scientists discovered an interesting link between chili eaters and those who lived longer. Italian academics behind the study found that those who consumed chili on a regular basis— as frequently as four times a week— were 40 percent less likely to die prematurely of a heart attack.

It has been further revealed that the presence of Capsaicin, an anti-inflammatory compound, had a pivotal role to play. The research was conducted on 23,000 volunteers who resided in Italy and followed a Mediterranean diet.

But that said, it wasn’t the consumption of chili that helped. Findings of another study by researchers at the Instituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed (IRCCS) in Pozzilli, weren’t convinced that chilis helped the heart. Yet, they believed that chili pepper had a protective effect that was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

A whole, well-balanced diet played an equally important role. “An interesting fact is that protection from mortality risk was independent of the type of diet people followed,” said author Marialaura Bonaccio. “In other words, someone can follow the healthy Mediterranean diet, someone else can eat less healthily, but for all of the chili pepper has a protective effect,” Bonaccio added. Yet, the findings made it clear that consuming chili peppers had little to do with weight loss, as chili eaters in the study were on the heavier side—while some battled obesity as well.

The Mediterranean diet, which is pegged as one of the healthiest diets in the world, comprises a diet that’s rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fish and meat and is low on red meat, processed foods, soda, sugar, and saturated fats.

Aside from the researches, the benefits of hot chili peppers are widespread. Chili peppers are said to mitigate migraines to a large extent, relieves joint pains, fights flu, cold and fungal infections, prevents bad breath and allergies.