Spicy Food and Chili Peppers and Multiple Health Outcomes: Umbrella Review

Abstract

Spicy foods and chili peppers contain the primary ingredient capsaicin, which has potential health benefits. However, their efficacy in some health outcomes is also fiercely disputed, and some side effects have been confirmed. To assess the quality and strength of the associations between spicy food and chili pepper consumption and different health outcomes. An umbrella review is performed in humans. Eleven systematic reviews and meta‐analyses with a total of 27 findings are identified. The health effect of consuming spicy food and chili peppers is unclear. Furthermore, the characteristics and context of different world regions and populations should be carefully considered. Direct correlations exist in esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and gallbladder cancer. However, negative connections are reported in metabolism, mortality, and cardiovascular disease. Dose–response analysis reveals a significant nonlinear relationship between gastric cancer risk and capsaicin intake. The consumption of spicy foods and chili peppers is typically safe. However, high‐quality proof is available to confirm this conclusion.

Dietary Capsaicin: A Spicy Way to Improve Cardio-Metabolic Health?

“…However, no significant difference in total cholesterol (202 mg/dL versus 205 mg/dL) or HDL-cholesterol (50 mg/dL versus 51 mg/dL) levels were detected between chili-eaters and non-eaters, respectively. In accordance, a recent umbrella review of 11 systematic reviews and meta-analyses found no significant association between spicy food intake and blood glucose, plasma insulin, and hemoglobin A1 c levels [ 56 ].…”

Chili Pepper as a Functional Food: Relevance to Lesotho

“…The study found that this co-administration resulted in elevated levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 in the serum, leading to a notable decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Within the realm of scholarly investigations, a study by (Ao et al, 2022) revealed that fermented red chili pepper supplementation may play a vital role in improving systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). However, there was no significant association between the consumption of red chili pepper and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate.…”

“…It has been suggested that the regular consumption of chili peppers may have potential benefits in preventing and managing chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, obesity (Huei et al, 2020), hypertension (Ao et al, 2022), and cardiovascular diseases (Bonaccio et al, 2019).…”

“…Considerable attention has been dedicated to examining the preventive and therapeutic attributes of chili peppers in relation to many health conditions including their potential to mitigate the risk of cancer, cardiac arrhythmias, rheumatism, and chest colds, and numerous other disorders worldwide (Xiang et al, 2022). Previous research supports the use of chili peppers as functional foods (Ao et al, 2022;Azlan et al, 2022). Functional foods are those that serve as therapeutic agents in addition to nutrition (Shetty & Sarkar, 2020).…”

Are We Ready to Recommend Capsaicin for Disorders Other Than Neuropathic Pain?

“…However, in the same year, Szallasi et al [66], analyzing clinical studies carried out with capsiate, did not observe a significant influence of non-pungent capsinoids on body weight and obesity. Some reviews and clinical studies carried out with red [71,84,106] or black pepper [107,108] have observed beneficial effects on human health. Since capsaicin and chili peppers are the main components that give spicy characteristics to foods, it could be expected to associate the increase in spicy food consumption with the increase in capsaicin's beneficial effects.…”