The association between certain foods and health is a much discussed subject with advocates on both sides and a group in the middle who raise the rider of ‘it depends’. Often an active substance in a food shows a particular health benefit in an animal study, but this does not mean the results are applicable to people or that the substance confers the same effect in when eaten as part of the food compared with being a food extract. To add to this there are personal and lifestyle factors to take into account. In other words, the assessment of food and health forms a complex relationship.
Peppers have long attracted attention as a food that could impart health benefits, which reflects the use of the plant in eastern medicine. For example, in ancient China peppers were used to treat several diseases. A new study has set out to test these ancient traditions.
The new study uses U.S. National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) III data. The information has been drawn from surveys of over 16,000 people who agreed to be monitored over the course of 23 years.
One portion of the data related to food choices and consumption and this has been studied in relation to hot red chili pepper consumption. The survey demographics suggest that consumers of hot red chili peppers are more likely to be younger, male, white, Mexican-American, and married. In addition, this group are more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and consume more vegetables and meats.
This sub-group were tracked through the course of the study, from the typical age of the people (which was just under 19 years old) and until the end of the study (or shorter if there was a fatality). Here they found rates of death were lower.
It is difficult to demonstrate that peppers extend life. However, the researchers take a stab and question whether Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels, which are primary receptors for pungent agents such as capsaicin (the principal component in chili peppers), play a part. Here capsaicin plays a role in cellular and molecular mechanisms that prevent obesity and help coronary blood flow. In addition, the active agent possesses some antimicrobial properties that could influence the microbiome.
The research has been published in the journal PLOS One, in a paper titled “The Association of Hot Red Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study.”
