Spicy Foods Prevent Premature Death

Eating spicy foods three to six days per week reduces death from all causes (deaths per year) and the risk of death from cancer, coronary artery disease and respiratory disease— according to researchers from China. They examined nearly 250,000 healthy men and women aged 30 to 79. Eating spicy foods decreased the risk of premature death by about 14 percent. The effects of spicy foods on death rates were greatest in people who did not drink alcohol. Spicy foods contain several chemicals such as capsaicin that have been linked to metabolic health and weight reduction. (British Medical Journal, 351: H 3942, 2015)