American Heart Association scientific committees’ member and volunteer expert, Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., RD, FAHA, FNLA, FASN, CLS, is distinguished professor of nutrition in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

Offering perspective on AHA Scientific Sessions 2020 Presentation P1036 
copyright American Heart Association 2020

"For consumers, I think a good message is that chili peppers may have health benefits. They can be used as a seasoning in food for flavors and also what I'm most excited about as a nutritionist is that it may be a way to decrease sodium in the diet. We know that sodium isn't good, that people need to lower sodium in their diet. That's gonna decrease blood pressure, decrease risk of heart disease. And one way of doing this is using herbs and spices, other flavorings like chili pepper to season foods, to make foods taste good without salt."