A research published in the medical journal BMJ has found another advantage of adding spices to food. An international team of researchers has found that people who eat spicy food have more chances to live longer.

The research being led by Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has assessed dietary data from around 490,000 people aged between 30 and 79 in China. These people had participated in the China Kadoorie Biobank study between 2004 and 2008.

In the study, factors including family medical history, age, education, diabetes and smoking habits were also considered. During the study period, the participants were asked on regular basis about how often they eat spicy food and the sources used to spice up the food.

After assessing all the factors, the researchers unveiled that people who consume spicy food one or two days a week were at 10% reduced risk of death. Having spicy food for more than two days a week further lowered the risk of death.

Amongst all spices, fresh and dried chili peppers were the most commonly used spices. The researchers said that they have not found any explanation of direct cause and effect. But there is a possibility that capsaicin, an active ingredient found in fresh chili, could be the reason.

The researchers said, “Capsaicin is the main active component of chili pepper. The beneficial roles of capsaicin have been extensively reported in relation to anti-obesity, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antihypertensive effects, and in improving glucose homeostasis, largely in experimental or small sized population studies”.