Could the Heat In Chili Peppers Help Save Your Life? Researchers Find the Secret to Youthful Metabolism in Spicy Foods

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As a Southern Californian, and more importantly a Latino, the stinging heat of a habanero or the terrifying feint burning of a ghost pepper are not unknown adventures on my palette. Staples in many Asian and Latin American cuisine, chilies have become the most widely grown spice crop worldwide in recent decades, and the secret lies in the heat-something researchers say may be the answer to longer life-expectancy.

Recently published in the journal Cell, University of California Berkeley's Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology Andrew Dillin revealed that the active ingredient that gives chilies their spicy heat (Capsaicin) may in fact regulate metabolism and longevity in life spans of humans.

"The sensation of pain is associated with increased mortality, but it is unknown whether pain perception can directly affect aging" Dillin says.

Delving into this fundamental relationship between the aging process and the development of pain, that are the trademarks of old age, Dillin and his research team looked to the nightshade family of plants for possible answers. Relatives to tomatoes and eggplants, nightshades like chili peppers set themselves apart in terms of spice quality thanks to a nitrogenous fat, the active ingredient capsaicin, which causes a similar biochemical effect on our pain receptors as heat.

In the mouth, which contains thousands of sensory receptors, lie proteins that signal pain known as TRPV1. And when the receptor is activated by the presence of capsaicin, a chain of biochemical reactions creates the sensation of scalding heat in the host. Though the immediate effects may be redness and shock, capsaicin is a valuable chemical that induces vasodilation (the relaxation of blood vessels), lowered blood pressure, and even acts as an analgesic that relieves minor aches and pains. But Dillin and his research team believes this analgesic may have more profound impacts on the future for humans.

Explained in the journal Cell, Dillin's research team found that by removing the pain receptor TRPV1, that mice lived an average of 14% longer than control groups, and without complications. The experimental research project can be easily translated to the consumption of chilies, as constant activation of the TRPV1 receptors courtesy of a spicy diet kills the pain-seeking nerves, a process which Dillin suggests may extend your lifespan.

Dillin says that eating diets rich in capsaicin may "help prevent metabolic decline with age and lead to increased longevity in humans." These diets also correlate to lower incidences of diabetes and metabolic problems in people of older ages.

Though researchers are still unsure of how the data may directly apply to the biochemical processes of humans, who have similar capsaicin-related cascades as mice, Dillin suggests that eating a chili or two with your meals may not only help you, but give you ease as the analgesics take action on the heat in your mouth and regulate a more youthful metabolism. So although the heat of the peppers may make you sweat, that salsa you devour could even give you back a youthful glow.