Regular use of chilli in the kitchen (about 4 times a week) reduces the risk of death by heart attack by 40% and by stroke by over 60%. Furthermore, it reduces the risk of death by any cause by 23% compared to those who do not normally use it. This is suggested by a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and coordinated by the epidemiologists of the IRCCS Neuromed of Pozzilli, in collaboration with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the University of Insubria in Varese and the Mediterranean Cardiocentro of Naples.
The study was based on the analysis of the eating habits of 22,811 Molisans whose health status was monitored for an average of eight years. Experts have seen that using chilli 4 or more times a week is associated with a reduction in the overall risk of death by 23%, a reduction in the risk of death by heart attack by 40%, and a reduction of more than half the risk of death. stroke.
"The most interesting aspect - said the first author of the work, Marialaura Bonaccio, an epidemiologist of the Neuromed - is that the protection provided by the chili pepper is independent of the type of diet adopted as a whole, or whether it is eaten in a healthy way, or whether it is chosen a less healthy diet, the protective effect of the chili pepper is the same for everyone ".
New studies will be needed, the scientists conclude, to discover the way (the biochemical mechanisms) through which the chili pepper and other similar plants used in the kitchen exert these protective effects.
