研究表明，吃辣椒可以降低因心脏病和中风而死亡的风险

研究表明，吃辣椒可以降低因心脏病和中风而死亡的风险

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

一项新的研究表明，这种美味的通心粉可能比面带微笑更有益处。

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.

多年来，辣椒一直因其治疗功效而备受赞誉，现在研究人员发现，经常食用辣椒可以降低因心脏病和中风而死亡的风险。

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.

这项研究是在意大利进行的，那里辣椒是一种常见的配料。研究比较了2.3万人的死亡风险，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.

研究人员对参与者的健康状况和饮食习惯进行了8年的监测，发现每周至少吃四次辣椒的人死于心脏病发作的风险降低了40%。

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

周一发表在《美国心脏病学会杂志》上的研究结果显示，死于中风的人数减少了一半以上。

"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).

地中海神经研究所的流行病学家玛芮拉波纳笑说：“一个有趣的事实是，对死亡风险的保护与人们遵循的饮食类型无关。”这项研究的主要作者玛芮拉波纳笑是地中海神经研究所的流行病学家。

"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.

她说:“换句话说，有人可以遵循健康的地中海饮食，有人可以吃得不那么健康，但对他们所有人来说，辣椒都有保护作用。”

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

该研究使用了来自意大利南部莫利泽地区的莫利萨尼研究的数据，该研究约有2.5万名参与者。

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.

瓦雷兹因苏布里亚大学教授、神经医学流行病学和预防学系主任利西娅娅科维耶洛解释说，辣椒的有益特性是通过意大利饮食文化传承下来的。

"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.

“现在，正如在中国和美国已经观察到的，我们知道各种辣椒类植物，尽管在世界各地以不同的方式食用，可以对我们的健康起到保护作用，” 娅科维耶洛说。

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

研究小组现在计划研究辣椒对人体有益的生化机制。

External experts praised the study while pointing out some limitations.

外部专家赞扬了这项研究，同时指出了一些局限性。

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.

英国阿斯顿医学院的注册营养师、高级研究员杜安•梅勒表示，这篇论文很“有趣”，但“没有显示出”食用辣椒与健康益处之间的“因果关系”。

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.

梅勒说，研究中所观察到的食用辣椒的积极影响可以归因于在整体饮食中如何使用辣椒。

"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.

他说:“使用辣椒的人似乎是合理的，因为数据显示他们也使用了更多的香草和香料，因此可能会吃更多的新鲜食物，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，尽管辣椒可以作为我们食谱和膳食的美味补充，但它的直接影响可能很小，而且更有可能的是，它会让吃其他健康食物变得更愉快。”