Usbek and Rica – A study suggests that eating chili peppers extends lifespan

In detail, the work of Dr. Xu and his team reveals that people who regularly eat chili have a 26% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who never or hardly ever eat it, lower risk of dying from cancer. Even more impressive, the researchers estimate the reduction in overall risk of death among followers of the spicy diet at 25%, suggesting that this food tends to extend lifespan.

If these figures are to be considered with great caution, it is because they concern what in scientific language is called relative risk (the probability that an event occurs in a group of individuals compared to another group with different behavior, ed) and not the absolute risk (the likelihood of seeing an effect on health under specific conditions, ed). In other words, eating chili every day won’t necessarily reduce the risk of dying of heart attack by 26%, but that of the chili eating group (which you may be a part of).

Need for randomized trials

Despite the importance of the differences observed, the researchers refuse for the moment to establish a cause and effect link between the consumption of chili peppers and the extension of life expectancy: ” The exact reasons that could explain our conclusions, the precise mechanisms at work, have not yet been identified. “According to Dr. Bo Xu, who then specifies that” It is not possible to conclude that eating more chili peppers prolongs life and reduces deaths from cardiovascular factors or cancer. To confirm these early results, we now need more studies, including randomized controlled trials. “

Pending further conclusions, it is possible to put into practice two good intentions. First, spice up your diet without delay to benefit from the plant’s scientifically established anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antioxidant properties. So, be careful not to play guinea pigs in future spicy diet studies. This is the most reasonable option to avoid suffering the same headaches, violence and unbearable suddenness, of this 34-year-old New Yorker who, in 2017, ended up in the emergency room after daring to taste the Carolina Reaper, one of the most powerful peppers in the world. world …