Regularly using chili peppers in cooking (about four times a week) reduces the risk of death from heart attack by 40% and from stroke by over 60%. Furthermore, it reduces the risk of death from any cause by 23% compared to those who don't regularly use them. This is the finding of a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and coordinated by epidemiologists at the IRCCS Neuromed in Pozzilli, in collaboration with the Istituto Superiore di Sanita', the University of Insubria in Varese, and the Cardiocentro Mediterraneo in Naples. The study analyzed the dietary habits of 22.811 people from Molise whose health was monitored for an average of eight years. The experts found that using chili peppers four or more times a week was associated with a 23% reduction in the overall risk of death, a 40% reduction in the risk of death from heart attack, and a reduction of more than half in the risk of stroke. "The most interesting aspect," reported the study's first author, Marialaura Bonaccio, an epidemiologist at Neuromed, "is that the protection provided by chili pepper is independent of the overall diet. That is, whether one eats healthily or less healthily, the protective effect of chili pepper is the same for everyone." New studies will be needed, the scientists conclude, to discover the biochemical mechanisms through which chili pepper and other similar plants used in cooking exert these protective effects.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to