研究表明，吃辣椒可以降低因心臟病和中風而死亡的風險

研究表明，吃辣椒可以降低因心臟病和中風而死亡的風險

That delicious penne all'arrabiata may have benefits that go further than putting a smile on your face, according to a new study.

一項新的研究表明，這種美味的通心粉可能比面帶微笑更有益處。

For many years, chili has been hailed for its therapeutic properties, and now researchers have found that eating chili peppers regularly can cut the risk of death from heart disease and stroke.

多年來，辣椒一直因其治療功效而備受贊譽，現在研究人員發(fā)現，經常食用辣椒可以降低因心臟病和中風而死亡的風險。

Carried out in Italy, where chili is a common ingredient, the study compared the risk of death among 23,000 people, some of whom ate chili and some of whom didn't.

這項研究是在意大利進行的，那里辣椒是一種常見的配料。研究比較了2.3萬人的死亡風險，其中一些人吃辣椒，一些人不吃。

Participants' health status and eating habits were monitored over eight years, and researchers found that the risk of dying from a heart attack was 40% lower among those eating chili peppers at least four times per week.

研究人員對參與者的健康狀況和飲食習慣進行了8年的監(jiān)測，發(fā)現每周至少吃四次辣椒的人死于心臟病發(fā)作的風險降低了40%。

Death from stroke was more than halved, according to results published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

周一發(fā)表在《美國心臟病學會雜志》上的研究結果顯示，死于中風的人數減少了一半以上。

"An interesting fact is that protection from mortality risk was independent of the type of diet people followed," said study lead author Marialaura Bonaccio, an epidemiologist at the Mediterranean Neurological Institute (Neuromed).

地中海神經研究所的流行病學家瑪芮拉波納笑說：“一個有趣的事實是，對死亡風險的保護與人們遵循的飲食類型無關。”這項研究的主要作者瑪芮拉波納笑是地中海神經研究所的流行病學家。

"In other words, someone can follow the healthy Mediterranean diet, someone else can eat less healthily, but for all of them chili pepper has a protective effect," she said.

她說:“換句話說，有人可以遵循健康的地中海飲食，有人可以吃得不那么健康，但對他們所有人來說，辣椒都有保護作用。”

The research uses data from the Moli-Sani study, which has around 25,000 participants in the Molise region of southern Italy.

該研究使用了來自意大利南部莫利澤地區(qū)的莫利薩尼研究的數據，該研究約有2.5萬名參與者。

Licia Iacoviello, director of the department of epidemiology and prevention at Neuromed and a professor at the University of Insubria in Varese, explained that the beneficial properties of chili had been passed down through Italian food culture.

瓦雷茲因蘇布里亞大學教授、神經醫(yī)學流行病學和預防學系主任利西婭婭科維耶洛解釋說，辣椒的有益特性是通過意大利飲食文化傳承下來的。

"And now, as already observed in China and in the United States, we know that the various plants of the capsicum species, although consumed in different ways throughout the world, can exert a protective action towards our health," said Iacoviello.

“現在，正如在中國和美國已經觀察到的，我們知道各種辣椒類植物，盡管在世界各地以不同的方式食用，可以對我們的健康起到保護作用，” 婭科維耶洛說。

The team now plans to investigate the biochemical mechanisms that make chili good for our health.

研究小組現在計劃研究辣椒對人體有益的生化機制。

External experts praised the study while pointing out some limitations.

外部專家贊揚了這項研究，同時指出了一些局限性。

Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior teaching fellow at Aston Medical School in the UK, said the paper is "interesting" but "does not show a causal link" between chili consumption and health benefits.

英國阿斯頓醫(yī)學院的注冊營養(yǎng)師、高級研究員杜安•梅勒表示，這篇論文很“有趣”，但“沒有顯示出”食用辣椒與健康益處之間的“因果關系”。

Mellor said the positive effect of chili consumption observed in the study could be attributed to how the peppers are used in an overall diet.

梅勒說，研究中所觀察到的食用辣椒的積極影響可以歸因于在整體飲食中如何使用辣椒。

"It is plausible people who use chillies, as the data suggests also used more herbs and spices, and as such likely to be eating more fresh foods including vegetables," he said.

他說:“使用辣椒的人似乎是合理的，因為數據顯示他們也使用了更多的香草和香料，因此可能會吃更多的新鮮食物，包括蔬菜。”

"So, although chillies can be a tasty addition to our recipes and meals, any direct effect is likely to be small and it is more likely that it makes eating other healthy foods more pleasurable."

“所以，盡管辣椒可以作為我們食譜和膳食的美味補充，但它的直接影響可能很小，而且更有可能的是，它會讓吃其他健康食物變得更愉快。”