Spicy foods might be good for weight loss. Peppery palates are also thought to be hungrier for sex, too. But a new long-term study has revealed a possible significant downside to fiery flavors: a susceptibility to dementia.
“Chili consumption was found to be beneficial for body weight and blood pressure in our previous studies,” says Dr. Zumin Shi of Quatar University, who led the study, in partnership with researchers at the University of South Australia (UniSA). “However, in this study, we found adverse effects on cognition among older adults.”
The study, which appears in the journal Nutrients, analyzed 15-year data from over 4,500 Chinese adults age 55 and above, and saw a more rapid cognitive decline — double the average risk — in those who regularly consumed more than 50 grams of chili per day. Notably, those with slimmer builds experienced an even steeper decrease in memory and cognition.
“Chili is one of the most commonly used spices in the world and particularly popular in Asia compared to European countries,” says Dr. Ming Li of UniSA. “In certain regions of China, such as Sichuan and Hunan, almost one in three adults consume spicy food every day.”
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Cognitive exams were performed regularly between 1991 and 2006, asking participants to recall a 10-word list, count backwards from 20 and complete some basic subtraction equations.
Hot foods outlined by researchers include both fresh and dried chili peppers, but excluded sweet peppers and black peppercorns. The common factor is capsaicin, the component of chilis that makes them hot, but also gives our metabolism a boost and promotes vascular health. However, this is the first observational study to examine how capsaicin impacts the brain.
The data, pulled from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, showed that those with the highest preference for the picante were more physically active, had a lower body mass index and, interestingly, a lower income. Compared to overweight people, researchers believe slim to average body types may be more vulnerable to the cognitive decline associated with chili — though they don’t hypothesize why.
The World Health Organization estimates that some 50 million people worldwide have dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in three seniors in the US will die with dementia.
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