There is good news for people who like spicy food as a new study suggests that hot red chili peppers can make a person live longer.

Researchers from the Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont discovered that consumption of peppers can lower the chances of mortality due to stroke or cardiovascular diseases by 13 percent. Further, it was found that individuals who regularly eat pepper had a 21.6 percent lower mortality rate compared to the 33.6 percent of their counterparts.

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The researchers used data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) III collected in a span of 23 years and involving over 16,000 Americans.

The study focused on the assessment of the individuals' pepper consumption. It revealed that those who regularly eat food with pepper and who were "younger, male, white, Mexican-American, married and smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and consume more vegetables and meats... had lower HDL-cholesterol, lower income, and less education."

Professor Benjamin Littenberg and student Mustafa Chopan found out that "although the mechanism by which peppers could delay mortality is far from certain, Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels, which are primary receptors for pungent agents such as capsaicin (the principal component in chilli peppers) may in part be responsible for the observed relationship."

Littenberg elaborated that capsaicin may be involved in both the molecular and cellular mechanisms which prevent cardiovascular diseases and obesity. The component may also indirectly affect the gut microbiota with its antimicrobial properties.

This is not the first time scientists have recognized the health benefits of peppers. It has been used to address illnesses for many centuries. This study supports findings in 2015 that chili peppers can reduce mortality.

The study, which was published in PLoS ONE, focused on "hot red chili peppers" and did not include information about the hot green and yellow varieties.