Chili Peppers May Help Prevent Deadly Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Suggests

The spicy hot vegetable appears to lower cardiovascular risk whether or not people follow healthy diets overall.

Research shows that capsaicin, the active ingredient that gives chilis their heat, can affect platelet function and reduce blood glucose levels.

If you like your food spicy hot, you may be doing your heart a favor. New research has found that eating chili peppers dramatically cuts the risk of heart attack and stroke.

In a study published in December in Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), scientists in Italy observed that people who eat chili peppers four times a week or more were 40 percent less likely to die from heart attack and 60 percent less likely to die from cerebrovascular disease such as stroke compared with those who do not regularly consume chili peppers.

“An interesting fact is that protection from mortality risk was independent of the type of diet people followed,” says the lead investigator, Marialaura Bonaccio, PhD, an epidemiologist at the Neuromed Mediterranean Neurological Institute in Pozzilli, Italy. “In other words, someone can follow the healthy Mediterranean diet and someone else can eat less healthily, but for all of them chili pepper has a protective effect.”

Bonaccio and collaborators based their findings on data from 22,811 men and women, age 35 and older, from the Molise region in Italy.

Participants provided details on their food intake via questionnaire. A total of 23.4 percent reported eating chili peppers more than four times a week, while 33.7 said they never or seldom consumed them. 

Scientists tracked their health status for an average of about eight years. During that time, 1,236 of the subjects died — just over a third of them from heart-related causes.

A Surprisingly Big Benefit Compared With Previous Research

While other investigations have demonstrated peppers’ benefits, the results have been less dramatic.

A study conducted in China and published in 2015 in the BMJ followed more than half a million men and women over a period of seven years, and showed that those who ate spicy foods six to seven days per week had a 14 percent relative risk reduction in death.

In a trial published in 2017 in PLoS One, based on data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, reported a 13 percent risk reduction in total mortality connected with the consumption of hot chili peppers.

Roshini Malaney, DO, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology in New York City who was not involved in the study, remarks that this investigation stands out because of the magnitude of the positive effect.

“It could be due to the overall healthy diet that the Italians consume,” she says.

All participants in this study were eating better compared with the typical diet in the United States, writes J. David Spence, MD, a medical researcher and professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, in a corresponding editorial.

What’s Behind Chili Peppers’ Positive Power?

Although this report did not examine the biochemical mechanisms in chili peppers that influence the heart, capsaicin — the active ingredient that gives chilis their heat — may play a role. Capsaicin is the fiery component in cayennes, jalapeños, and habaneros.

“Some data show how capsaicinoids [a class of compounds that includes capsaicin] may have an impact on platelet function [to help your body form clots to stop bleeding], the cells lining the blood vessels, and reduction in insulin resistance,” says Jeffrey Teuteberg, MD, a cardiologist at Stanford Health Care in Palo Alto, California, who was not part of the research team.

A 2012 study out of China discovered that capsaicinoids block the action of a gene that makes arteries contract, and lowers cholesterol levels by reducing accumulation of cholesterol in the body.

Dr. Malaney adds that people who put chilis in their food may use fewer other ingredients, such as salt or butter, that may be heart-harmful.

Chilis Won’t Solve All Problems

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle overall is still critical to keeping your heart in top shape, according to Malaney.

“It’s important to follow a healthy diet and exercise and not replace those things with more chili intake,” she says.

Sarah Samaan, MD, a cardiologist with Baylor Scott & White Legacy Heart Center in Plano, Texas, who was not involved in the research, notes that the investigation was limited as an observational study rather than a randomized controlled trial, which excludes more variables.

Also, diet data was self-reported, which can be unreliable, and the population was from one region, so results may not apply to people with other ethnic backgrounds.

“While chili peppers appear to be heart healthy, it's important to understand that you can't just squirt a little hot sauce on your cheeseburger and call it good,” says Dr. Samaan. “Making chili peppers one part of a heart healthy diet will take you much further down the road to good health.”