Uproar in China after study suggests eating chilli is linked to dementia
- Sample of Chinese people aged over 55 who ate at least 50 grams of chilli a day had a higher risk of memory loss
- Research generates a storm on social media platform Weibo, with over 300 million views
Eating chilli may be linked to a decline in cognitive function and an added risk of dementia, a study has found, causing a stir on Chinese social media.
The study, published in the journal Nutrients in May, was conducted by five researchers from universities in Qatar, Australia and the United States. Based on data collected from 4,582 Chinese people aged over 55 during a 15-year period, it concluded that chilli intake was inversely related to cognitive ability.
Those who ate more than 50 grams of chilli a day had more than double the risk of poor memory, and a 56 per cent higher risk of suffering memory loss, the study found.
The cognitive decline was greater among people of average weight than among those who were overweight, it found.
However, the way in which chilli intake might cause cognitive decline remained unknown, the researchers noted.
The researchers’ previous study suggested that eating chilli had beneficial effects by being inversely associated with mortality, obesity and hypertension.