High Chili consumption could increase risk of dementia

A 15 year study on the consumption of Chili in China has resulted in a positive link to Chili consumption (at reasonably high levels) to cognitive decline.

To read about it see the following linked article:

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Well that explains me losing my…??

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We have to remember that correlation is not causation even if their model was controlled for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Also the dose of 50g a day was high compared to those I know who enjoy large amounts of chilli regularly. Speaking of regularity, at that level cognitive loss could have been due to the time spent each day sitting staring at a tiled wall instead of more stimulating activity.

Until somebody comes up with a plausible mechanism for this to work and shows the effect at a more normal doses I take it with a grain of salt.

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I can’t remember what I lost either…but do love chillis.

I wonder if they looked at fresh/dried verses processed chillis. In Asia, a significant proportion of the chilli consumed has been processed in some form or another. I see the text mentions fresh/dried but can’t see reference to processed forms.

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You realise salt is bad for you too of course? As is a spoon full of sugar, etc. :joy:

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That is why I made the comment about processed chillies. In China and many other parts of SE Asia, chilli sauces are often used in most cooked dishes (SW China/Sichuan known for its spicy dishes). Chillies is done using a generous amount of salt.

I also recall links between salt and dementia and the Dementia Australia recommends low salt diets. I wonder if the link a bit broader than chilli alone and processed chilli in salt?

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Reading the study the food components used were measured over a 3 day period and used the cited “Chinese Food Composition Table 2004” to determine food components eg salt, sugar, and so on. The 1981 translated version prior to the 2004 version indeed included condiments as part of the table “The Chinese Food Composition Tables, representing four decades of effort by the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Beijing, are presented in annotated translation with extensive supplementary material. Nutrient data for more than 600 foods include edible portion; proximate composition; energy, major mineral, trace element, vitamin, and cholesterol content; and amino acid and fatty acid profile” and from further in the abstract …“nonalcoholic beverages; condiments; confections”…

I think all these factors had been statistically accounted for in the results and they do address dietary factors more in that “Two dietary patterns were constructed based on 35 food groups, including alcohol, aggregated from 3-day food records using factor analysis. The first pattern (traditional south pattern) is characterized by a high intake of rice, pork, and vegetables, and low intake of wheat; the second pattern (modern dietary pattern) had a high intake of fruit, soy milk, egg, milk, deep fried products and beer.”

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Me too. I have never eaten a lot of chili but my cognition is in decline anyway. Maybe its the salt and the garlic. They should do a study.

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As does most people’s cognitive abilities decline as they age :smile: The study used statistical analysis to see if there was a difference between how much Chili/Chilli you ate and any cognitive deficit difference between different levels of use ie nil/small use, moderate use, and high use. While some people who ate none or small amounts had cognitive impairment this background impairment would have been present in all groups. Just the high use group had more who had impairment beyond that background level.

The salt I understand has been done (and hypertension which can be linked to high salt intake)


https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-017-0059-z

Garlic appears to improve cognitive function

https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/apnm-2014-0255



So it would appear keeping reasonable levels of sodium in the body is important to cognitive health but too little or too much is bad. Garlic appears to be beneficial regardless of lots or little but more is probably a better option for cognitive health but may be a barrier to personal status improvements unless you find some who are equally happy to consume it :slight_smile:

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Another article regarding chillis and dementia but also the health benefits of chillis.

The world must have been a pretty bland and boring food scene prior to Christopher Columbus’ expedition to the Americas.

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A bit of an issue is that the article is the reference to “Chili peppers”, the research was about hot chillies/chilies, and the US term “chili peppers” refers to all the types including capsicum and other “sweet” members of the family which have a lot less “heat” ie capsaicin and were not seen to have the effect.

The authors of the study have researched the benefits of eating chillies/cilies in the past and acknowledge the benefits in this study as well.

Yes the use of chilli/chili certainly broadened the taste experiences of many in the world, as did the spices from Asia, India, etc such as pepper, cinnamon, cloves. Macro Polo brought back noodles from those adventures. So perhaps not bland and boring as more a different taste profile to food.

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But even the Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, Africian and almost every other ethnic group utilizes chillis in their foods, so even their meals must have been much less appealing prior to chillies being introduced, not to mention chocolate and smashed avocado.

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And tomatoes, potatoes, egg plant, maize, beans, peanuts, tapioca (cassava), most of the squash (cucurbit) tribe, quite a few nuts and berries, some sweet potatoes, pineapples and several other tropical fruits, the flavour desserts cannot do without (vanilla) and of course those super modern superfoods chia and quinoa, which aren’t modern at all.

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You overlooked the turkeys.

Also the guinea pigs for Gordon Ramsay.

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I didn’t know Gordon fancied guinea pigs, you can imagine him commanding one to get back into the bleeped wok where it came from. Apparently they were kept domestically for food long before becoming pets - everything old is new again.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gordon+ramsay+guinea+pig&rlz=1C1SQJL_enAU794AU794&oq=gordon+ramsay+guinea+pig&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60.18580j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Have to agree with you…

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It would be the Soy milk not the BEER

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An article regarding chilli chips which are sold individually.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/lifestyle/foodanddrink/the-worlds-spiciest-chip-is-sold-only-one-to-a-customer/ar-AAHu0dS?ocid=spartandhp

Probably no health benefits with these chips.

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Neither is
pepper (from Southern India),
or horse radish (known to Egypt in 1500BC, hence Europe),
or wasabi (ancient Japan),
or ginger,
Or …

Perhaps the world of flavoursome food is confused by critics who have lost touch with their taste buds and can only taste chilli. A likely symptom of chilli addiction?

Should we add caution and chilli to the list of other addictive plant substances such as cane/corn sugar?

While it is just one vote here, the wide variety of so called chilli peppers can complement the flavours in a meal. However, there comes a point where the ingredient does little more than confuse the palate, destroying the rest of the meal. I for one could live quite happily without chilli. Best used in moderation, some may need to seek help if addiction persists. :hot_face:

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