How eating green chillies helps you live longer
How many of us eat fresh green chillies with our meals like our parents and their parents did? The answer to this question can determine how long you'll actually live. Yes!
A spanking new study just out (on August 4) has reported a finding that our forefathers somehow already knew and practised. Researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, after studying close to about half a million adults in a long-term study in China have found that people who eat spicy food live longer than those who don't. "Eating spicy food just once or twice a week reduces risk of death by ten per cent and eating more (three-seven days a week) by 14 per cent when compared to people who eat spicy food less than once a week," they write. They also found a lower risk of death as a result of diseases like cancer, ischemic heart disease and respiratory diseases in spice-eaters.
Also please note that "fresh" chilli (as compared to dried chilli pepper, chilli sauce, chilli oil or other spices) has a stronger protective effect against death from these diseases. There's more! Apparently data also suggests that women who eat spicy foods more often are 45 per cent less likely to die of infections compared to women who eat them less than once a week (no such finding for men though). So maybe keeping a stack of these pesky, hot green chillies handy is all you need to help sail through myriad monsoon infections safely. And maybe that's why our ancestors ate these green fiery peppers every single day even though they burn the tongue, make our eyes water and literally make us sweat.
Wait, there are more benefits!
It is primarily capsaicin, the compound that gives the mouth-watering punch to chillies, at work. It helps lower inflammation, which is usually responsible for most disorders including cancer. One tip: The spicier the pepper is, the more capsaicin it contains.
Capsaicin helps keep cholesterol numbers tamed and oxidative stress in check too; both are big cardiac disease risk factors.
It also keeps the number of gut bacteria positive (boost the good ones) and I have written about the health benefits of a good gut earlier too.
And believe it or not, spicy food may help you burn more calories too by pumping up your metabolic rate and thus help keep the weight in check. Some studies also show that spicy food in general delivers more satiety and reduces cravings for fatty, salty and sweet foods. That's a tip for sure!
Plus you get vitamins A, C, E and K too, which boost our immune system and strengthen the heart muscles. Vitamin A is great for our eyes too; my grandma is never tired of repeating: eat the chillies to get sparkling eyes, and that's apparently true. Also as the concentration of vitamin C in green chilli goes down with time and with exposure to heat, light and air, ideally always eat fresh and store them in a cool, dark place.
Spicy foods also boost production of feel-good hormones such as serotonin and may help ease depression and stress. Yes, that is why they give such a kick.
No harm done!
There are many I know who avoid chillies because they have bought into the long-standing myth that spicy food exacerbates ulcers and other stomach ailments. Ain't true! Hot chillies actually decrease the output of gastric acid, so unless you already have a standing stomach issue, they won't mess up your stomach lining at all. In fact, they actually help protect the stomach lining if eaten in moderation. But of course if you have a chronic digestive disorder like irritable bowel syndrome or heartburn then they are best avoided.
Finally, I believe (and I may sound a little old-fashioned here) that green chillies are a fabulous and super easy way to make our meal more exciting and full of flavour. Just a couple with every meal will do the trick. Not fond of them at all? Then take your pick from jalapeño, tabasco, and dry red chilli peppers (I use them in every tadka) or even chilli-flavoured oil. But If you are not used to them, then it makes sense to begin eating small amounts first and then build thereafter, because you might need to build tolerance to this age-stretching natural aid.