A recent study confirms previous studies’ findings that red hot chili peppers are beneficial to your health. The study, published by Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, states that regular consumption of spicy foods containing this ingredient is associated with a 13 percent reduction in total mortality.

Using National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) III data collected from more than 16,000 Americans who were followed for up to 23 years, the research team found that participants who eat red chili peppers had lower HDL-cholesterol in comparison to participants who did not consume them.

While the nature of why diets including this food improve long-term health, it is believed that capsaicin, the principle component of chili peppers, may play a role in cellular and molecular mechanisms that prevent obesity and modulate coronary blood flow, and that the peppers also possess antimicrobial properties that might alter someone's gut bacteria (for the better). 

Although far from a hard fact just yet, this finding is certainly encouraging for those out there who enjoy eating spicy foods, as well as those who serve them at their establishments.