Eating Hot Peppers Could Improve Lifespan

Do you like your food spicy? If you do, have we got great news for you. And if you don't, maybe you want to start learning. Hot peppers could have especially strong life-extending properties due to the same compound that makes them spicy. Check out all the potential benefits.

Hot Peppers and the Heart

An analysis recently released by the American Heart Association has some exciting news for hot pepper enthusiasts. Eating a diet that regularly includes them may slash a person’s overall risks of death by 25%. This estimate includes a 23% lower risk of death by cancer and a 26% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Researchers sifted through 4,729 studies to come to these findings.

The key to the hot peppers’ incredible effects is an alkaloid called capsaicin—which is also the compound responsible for its unique bite. Capsaicin is a powerful antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. But it does more than that.

Possible Metabolic Benefits

Still other research supports using capsaicin as an anti-obesity agent. Not only might consumption benefit a person’s metabolic health, but it appears to change their ratio of calorie-burning of brown fat versus obesity-inducing abdominal fat. Eating hot peppers may also help with weight loss by making the stomach feel full sooner and improving the flavor of meals without adding extra calories.

Capsaicin intake also appears to help regulate blood sugar levels, and it may therefore protect against the development of diabetes. This benefit could come from the compound’s immune-modulating effects. More research in this area is likely to uncover a far wider range of benefits and uses, but however a person looks at it, hot peppers are a smart food choice for most people wanting to improve their chances of living long, healthy lives.

Some Words of Caution

Researchers are still working to iron out how capsaicin works, but they believe its benefits could be dose-dependent. Too little could be ineffective, and too much may do more harm than good. There’s also much we still don’t know about its irritating properties, which could make hot peppers a poor health choice for people who suffer from ulcers and other forms of gastrointestinal inflammation.

There are multiple reasons to consider getting a little spicier with our meals. Hot peppers are incredibly versatile in the kitchen, making them a win-win for most people. Of course, as with any dietary decision, discuss the use of hot peppers with a doctor or dietician before making any significant changes to the diet, and this goes double for those battling stomach problems.

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