By Desiree Salas (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Aug 07, 2015 06:00 AM EDT

One more reason to spice up your food - research showed chili peppers can help you have a longer life.

A study involving 485,000 people found that "compared with eating hot food, mainly chili peppers, less than once a week, having it once or twice a week resulted in a 10 percent reduced overall risk for death," The New York Times reported.

"Consuming spicy food six to seven times a week reduced the risk by 14 percent," the publication added.

The research followed the participants, who were included in the health study between 2004 to 2008, for about seven years. In that period, the researchers noted 20,224 deaths.

It was also observed that those who were fond of eating spicy food had lower rates of cancers, ischemic heart disease, and respiratory diseases.

"The authors drew no conclusions about cause and effect, but they noted that capsaicin, the main ingredient in chili peppers, had been found in other studies to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects," NY Times went on to say.

The study was published on The BMJ.

It is also worth noting that the participants were people living in China, as the researchers involved were from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, according to Forbes. The study had not included those who had a history of diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.

Interestingly, the capsaicin intake benefits were "slightly greater for women than men" and that the benefits were greater for those who ate fresh chili than dried ones.

"Fresh chilis are high (higher than dried ones) in vitamins C, A, K, B6, and potassium," the site explained.

The author of the study, Lu Qi, further explained the phenomenon with the following:

"Spicy food or its active components have been related to improved inflammation, reduced body adiposity, or improved lipid profiles."

"In addition, spicy foods may also affect gut bacteria which has been related to various chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. However, we know little about why these may occur. More studies are definitely needed to clarify the mechanisms."

Further, it's also suspected that spicy food may just be a marker for certain lifestyle choices "other lifestyle choices that lead to good health."

Could it be perhaps that hot food lovers tend to eat salty or sweet food less? Or are likely to eat less meat? What do you think.

Qi also suggested that increasing spicy food consumption even at a moderate level, like 1-2 times a week, can show "very similar protective effect."

Will you be upping your chili consumption from now on? Let us know!

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