Peppers Kill Prostate Cancer Cells

Spicy food fans rejoice! Capsaicin, the ingredient which makes peppers hot, can cause prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to U.S. and Japanese researchers on Wednesday. The study showed that capsaicin led 80 percent of human prostate cancer cells growing in mice to commit suicide in a process known as apoptosis. The findings are a cause for hope for future treatments.

Prostate cancer is the most common malignant cancer in U.S. men. It is diagnosed in 232,000 men every year and kills up to 30,000 of them. Worldwide, 221,000 men die every year from prostate cancer.