Love chillies? Careful! Study says it doubles your chances of developing dementia

Who does not love a dash of chilli to their pizzas and curries? What's life without the spice called chili/mirchi/kaaram/peppers? But before you splurge and heap lots of it into your sauces and biryanis, here's a bit of pungent news. Research says chilli intake has been found to be inversely related to cognitive function. Simply put, the higher your chilli intake over the years, the lower your chances of retaining peak cognitive functions into your ripe old age.

It was a collaborative study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (USA), the Qatar University, Doha (Qatar), and the University of South Australia, Adelaide (Australia) wherein the scholars set out to examine the association between chilli intake and cognitive function in Chinese adults.

Chilli is one of the most commonly used spices in the world with a substantial higher chilli intake in the Asian region compared to European countries - India and China lead the lot.

To the researchers' benefit, they could dip into a longitudinal study of 4852 adults (age 63.4 ± 7.7) attending the China Health and Nutrition Survey between 1991 and 2006.

What the study found:

1. High Chilli intake affects cognitive functions: Compared with non-consumers, those with chili consumption above 50 g/day reported poor memory and memory decline.

2. The obese are worse hit, the leaner thinner ones lesser so: This connection between chili intake and cognitive decline was more pronounced among those with low BMI than those with high BMI.

3. Chilli intake affects both genders: The longitudinal data indicate that higher chili intake is positively associated with cognitive decline in Chinese adults of both genders.

Dementia is a common disease that affects the quality of life, especially among the elderly population. The prevalence of dementia is on the rise. It is estimated that dementia affected 35.6 million people worldwide in 2010, and this number is expected to double every 20 years.

Peter Kevern, Associate Professor in Values in Care, Staffordshire University writes in The Conversation, "A succession of surveys by Saga has shown that we are more frightened of developing dementia in old age than any other condition including cancer, and the language we use to talk about it: “raw horror” and “living death” speak volumes of the deep unease the prospect of dementia stirs."

After years of working hard to stabilise one's personal, social, and professional life, it is the twilight years that one hopes to sit back and enjoy the many beauties of life. It is thought that with fewer responsibilities as one ages, it may be just the time to savour the richness of life. But when dementia strikes almost around the same time, it can be a terrible experience for both the patient and those close to them, robbing everyone of peace, dignity, enjoyment and hope. It also has no resolution or cure and the carer can get caught in a moral dilemma, financial crisis, and grief as the months or years roll on.

Do not let stress destroy your peace of mind. Use stress as a motivational tool to spur you on to deliver work on time but take time out for your mental health. Do yoga, and take up meditation. Unwind. Hopkins Medicine has some good advice for you. Healthy choices and lifestyle changes in your 40s may make a difference in your dementia risk. Do not ignore the blood reports that show high sugar or high cholesterol or your heart and lung reports that show high blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about strategies to guard against plaque buildup and narrowing of your arteries:

The Bottom Line:

It is now proven that high chili intake is associated with cognitive decline - especially among those with normal body weight. While the study team observed that chili intake above 50 g/day was associated with almost doubled the risk of self-reported poor memory, further research is needed to test whether reducing chili intake can prevent cognitive decline.