Chilies can help stave off heart disease, experts say

Eating chilies regularly can help reduce vascular calcification and reduce the probability of cardiovascular disease, Chinese medical experts said.

The discovery by Huang Hui, a professor at the Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, and his team, is good news for people who like spicy food. It is the first time the protective effects of chili intake on the human vascular system have been demonstrated.

The team published their paper, titled Capsaicin Attenuates Arterial Calcification Through Promoting SIRT6-Mediated Deacetylation and Degradation of Hif1 (Hypoxic-Inducible Factor-1 Alpha), in Hypertension, a top medical journal in the field, last month.

"The finding is very important. Vascular calcification seriously endangers human health and is a powerful predictor of cardiovascular events," Huang said.

"Because of its complex mechanisms, there is no effective treatment at the moment, but if a person can prevent or reverse the occurrence of vascular calcification by changing their eating habits, such as by regularly consuming chilies, it is really good news for patients."

Huang said his team found that the coronary artery calcification score for people who consumed chilies was significantly lower than for those who did not, and follow-up research showed that there was less progress in calcification in people who ate more chilies.

An increase in chili consumption also gradually decreased vascular calcification scores, he said. Animal and cellular experiments revealed the protective effect of capsaicin and the way it helps with vascular calcification.

People have been eating chilies for thousands of years, but it's only recently that researchers have found that capsaicin, a key chemical component, not only has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-tumor and other effects, but also possesses a variety of protective cardiovascular effects realized by binding capsaicin receptors, he added.

This is especially good news for people from the provinces of Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi and Guizhou, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, who have long been known for their love of spicy food.

Sliced fish or beef in hot chili oil is a famous dish in Sichuan, for example, while steamed fish heads with diced red chilies and spicy chicken are enjoyed by residents in Hunan.

Luosifen, or river snail rice noodles, a celebrated snack in Liuzhou city, Guangxi, can also be made with chili sauce. Another spicy sauce called Laoganma, which is produced in Guizhou, is very popular locally.

Cheng Weishan, an office worker from Hunan, said she was surprised to learn that eating chilies has such a good effect.

"It might encourage more people to enjoy spicy food in the months to come," she said.

Over the past few years, a number of studies have reported similar cardiovascular benefits from chili consumption, according to Huang.

For example, a health and nutrition survey from the United States found that in people who eat chilies, the risk of cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease and stroke decreased by 13 percent compared to those who did not.

Jiang Zhuoqin, a nutritional scientist at Sun Yat-sen University, said fresh chilies contain more vitamin C compared to other vegetables and fruits, and have an antioxidant effect that is good for health.

"But dried chilies do not have the same effect," he added, saying that he did not want to comment on the protective effects of chili on the human vascular system, and that more research was needed.

Zhao Yujing contributed to this story.