Turn up heat to dial back the salt, study suggests
From subtle to pungent and sweet to fiery, chili peppers are indispensable flavour boosters. Now, spicy food fans may have yet another reason to up the heat — a new study has linked an affinity for hot peppers to decreased salt consumption.
According to a new study published in Hypertension — the journal of the American Heart Association — people who prefer spicy foods crave salt less often. Researchers from Third Military Medical University in Chongqing, China looked at the salty and spicy food preferences of more than 600 Chinese adults.
They discovered that spicy-food lovers ate approximately half a teaspoon less salt per day when compared to people who avoid heat in their meals. Additionally, subjects who favour spicy foods had lower blood pressure than the other group.
“Previously, a pilot study found that trace amounts of capsaicin, the chemical that gives chili peppers their pungent smell, enhanced the perception of food being salty. We wanted to test whether this effect would also reduce salt consumption,” senior study author professor Zhiming Zhu said in a statement.
Researchers used imaging techniques to examine two regions in the brain that are involved in salty taste perceptions: the insula and orbitofrontal cortex.
The images showed that areas stimulated by salt and spice overlap, and that spice intensified brain activity.
It follows, the researchers suggest, that spice heightens people’s salt sensitivity, allowing them to be satiated by low-salt meals.
According to Health Canada, Canadians eat approximately 3,400 mg of sodium per day; more than double the recommended amount.
When eaten in excess, sodium can result in high blood pressure, which puts people at risk for heart disease, kidney disease and stroke.
“If you add some spices to your cooking, you can cook food that tastes good without using as much salt,” Zhu said.
“Yes, habit and preference matter when it comes to spicy food, but even a small, gradual increase in spices in your food may have a health benefit.”