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People who like spicy foods may eat less salt and have lower blood pressure, potentially reducing their risk of heart attacks and strokes, a study from China suggests.
When people didn’t care for spicy food, they consumed an average of 13.4 grams a day of salt, according to the study published in the journal Hypertension. But when people craved spicy dishes, their average salt intake was just 10.3 grams a day.
Systolic blood pressure – the “top” number showing how much pressure blood exerts against artery walls when the heart beats, was 8 mmHg lower for people with the greatest love of spicy foods than for individuals with the lowest tolerance for spice, the study also found.
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