Human study · Nutrition · 13 Nov 2026
In 21,734 adults, numbing and spicy foods lined up with lower cardiovascular disease rates
Source: Nutrients
What the research found
A prospective cohort was published on 13 November 2026. The Chongqing sub-cohort of the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort enrolled 23,308 adults aged 30 to 79 in 2018 and 2019 and followed them through September 2025. The incidence analysis had 21,734 people and 641 cardiovascular disease events. The mortality analysis had 22,923 people and 82 cardiovascular deaths. Median follow-up was 6.84 years. The abstract does not give a sex split. Eating both numbing and spicy foods lined up with lower cardiovascular disease incidence (hazard ratio 0.75, 95 percent CI 0.61 to 0.93). A three-way interaction of heatwave frequency, social vulnerability, and diet was p=0.0433 before Holm correction and p=0.1299 after. The same interaction was not seen for total humid-heat days (p=0.8514) or the longest heatwave (p=0.4190). High social vulnerability lined up with cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio 2.73 to 2.78). Diet and humid heat were not clearly tied to cardiovascular mortality. The authors say the dietary pattern should not be read as a causal protective effect. DOI 10.3390/nu18223767. Not medical advice.
Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.
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