Eat Mo' Chili Peppers and Live!

I love hot chocolate but mine has something else hot about it. More like spicy! Dave and I both enjoy Mayan hot chocolate because it has chili peppers and a new report shows people who eat them may live longer.

Their research looked at more than 4,700 previous studies for the impact of chili pepper consumption on health. The data was gathered from leading global health databases: Embase, Scopus, Medline, Ovid and Cochrane. The studies involved nearly 600,000 people from the US, China, Iran and Italy. The results are highly significant and showed a quarter lower risk of death from heart disease and nearly the same rates for cancer. The overall decrease in death from all causes for chili pepper consumers was also 25%, which is astounding.

We don't know yet why. Scientists want to do randomized studies to strengthen the results. We also don't know whether certain chili peppers work better.

Other studies have also shown these spicy wonders improve digestive health, help weight loss, relieve migraines, regulate insulin levels, and help maintain healthy hair and skin. But more rigorous studies need to prove out these findings.

Scientists believe a chemical in chili peppers may be responsible: capsaicin. It's actually the active ingredient in pepper spray used by police.

I prefer the burn of a good Mexican or Thai meal, so if my health gets a boost as a bonus, bring it on!