Curries are good for you: Spicy foods can protect against premature death, study claims

Healing properties of fresh chilli peppers are thought to be behind the results

EATING spicy food like curry could hold the key to a long and disease-free life, a study suggests.

 

Ingredients found in Britain’s favourite takeaway appear to slash the risk of cancer, heart disease and respiratory problems.

Those who regularly eat spicy dishes can reduce the chance of heading to an early grave by 14 per cent, the researchers believe.

The healing properties of fresh chilli peppers - especially the ingredient capsaicin - are thought to be behind the results of the decade-long study.

Lu Qi, associate professor at Harvard School of Public Health, said: “Compared with non-fresh spicy foods such as dried chilli pepper, chilli sauce or chilli oil, fresh chilli pepper is richer in bioactive ingredients, including capsaicin, vitamin C, and other nutrients such as vitamin A, K, and B6 and potassium.

“We found the inverse associations of spicy food consumption with certain cause specific deaths (cancer, ischemic heart disease, and diabetes) seemed to be stronger in those who consumed fresh chilli pepper than those who consumed non-fresh spicy foods.”

An international team of researchers led by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences examined the association between spicy foods as part of a daily diet and the total risk and causes of death.

Those who ate spicy foods more than three days a week saw their chances of early death fall by 14 per cent  

Almost 500,000 Chinese people aged between 30 and 79 completed a questionnaire about their general health and consumption of spicy food, red meat, vegetables and alcohol.

Those with a history of cancer, heart disease and stroke were excluded from the study and factors like age, marital status, level of education and physical activity were accounted for.

There were 20,224 deaths after a seven year follow-up.

The observational study found those who ate spicy foods once or twice a week had a 10 per cent reduced risk of death compared with those who consumed them less than once a week.

And those who ate spicy foods more than three days a week saw their chances of early death fall by 14 per cent.

Fresh and dried chilli peppers were the most commonly used spices in those who reported eating spicy foods weekly.

Sam Ahmedzai, Emeritus Professor at the department of oncology at the University of Sheffield, said: “A lot of patients receiving anti-cancer treatment like chemotherapy and radiotherapy suffer from nausea and vomiting.

"In specific situations there is good evidence, on top of most powerful drugs, adding something like ginger could make a big difference in some patients.”

The research is published in the BMJ today.