If you’re a fan of spicy foods, then you’re in luck. A study by researchers from the University of Vermont found that eating red chili peppers may help you live longer. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, involved over 16,000 participants. The researchers followed them for 23 years and studied their eating habits.
They found that subjects who said they regularly ate “hot red chili peppers” had lower total cholesterol and lower rates of high blood pressure than those who didn’t eat chili peppers at all.
Subjects who ate chili peppers also tended to eat more vegetables and meats than subjects who didn’t eat them. However, the researchers found that those who ate chili peppers were also more likely to smoke and drink.
But even after adjusting for those factors and other lifestyle choices, the researchers found that people who frequently ate chili peppers had a total mortality rate of 21.6 percent. Meanwhile, those who didn’t eat chili peppers had a total mortality rate of 33.6 percent – a 12 percent difference. Read more…
