After analyzing the data of almost 600 thousand people from all over the world, scientists concluded that regular consumption of chilli peppers contributes to life expectancy. But how exactly it works, they find it difficult to say.

Previous research shows that eating chilli peppers may have anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects, as well as regulate blood sugar levels. This is due to the content of capsaicin in pepper – an alkaloid that tastes hot.

In a new study, American cardiologists from the Cleveland Institute suggest that chili peppers reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Scientists decided to test the effect of eating chilli on cardiovascular mortality. To do this, they analyzed information about the health and nutrition of 570,762 people from the United States, China, Italy and Iran. The data was taken from the world’s leading health databases. Among other things, the databases contained information on the consumption of chilli peppers.

Researchers concluded that those people who regularly included chilli peppers in their diets had a 26 per cent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 23 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer. Moreover, they also experienced a relative decrease in mortality for the rest of the cause, about 25 per cent.

However, while scientists are in no hurry to draw final conclusions. More research is needed to pinpoint whether chilli actually contributed to the decline in mortality. The study of the effect of chilli pepper, in addition, was influenced by data on its use in the subjects studied, since someone ate it in large quantities, someone in less.

The work is published in Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.