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LIFE
Public health and safety

Like it hot? A spicy diet might mean longer life

Kim Painter
Special to USA TODAY
People who eat hot, spicy diets might live longer, a recent study suggests.

Some like it hot and spicy – and those people just might live longer.

That was the message from a recent headline-making study that showed greater longevity among people in China who ate hot, spicy foods the most often.

The study did not prove cause and effect — for one thing, it's possible that the ability to eat lots of hot chili peppers is sign, not a cause, of good health.

But it was the latest hint that our spice racks might be a source of more than flavor. Ancient wisdom and modern science are full of suggestions that spices, hot and not, have medicinal powers.

A quick look at the website of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (part of the National Institutes of Health) finds health claims associated with many spices. But it also shows many have yet to be substantiated by rigorous science. For example, here's what the center says about:

Cinnamon: While cinnamon has a long history as a folk cure for everything from bronchitis to diabetes, evidence for any health benefit is "generally lacking."

• Garlic: Mixed evidence suggests garlic might slightly lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure. But a trial of garlic supplements to prevent stomach cancer showed no effect.

Turmeric: This Indian spice, used in curries and mustards, is touted as a pain reliever and an aid to digestion and liver function. Lab and animal studies suggest turmeric might have anti-inflammatory and other powers, but "these findings have not been confirmed in people."

Of course, most of us keep our spices in a kitchen cupboard, not a medicine cabinet – and we use them mostly to make our food taste good.

That may be where spices can make their greatest health mark — making healthful foods more delicious, varied and visually appealing, says Chris D'Adamo, director of research at Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"It can help people eat healthier foods than they might otherwise eat," he says, citing his own recent study showing that lessons in spice use led Baltimore high school students to eat more whole grains and protein.

Increasing vegetable consumption is the aim of D'Adamo's next study, in which his team is working with students to tweak school lunch veggie recipes with herbs and spices. (Note: these studies are funded by the McCormick Science Institute, backed by the spice company of the same name.)

If adding ginger to the cafeteria carrots gets teens to eat more of them, D'Adamo says, "it will be a major public health victory."

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