Eating spicy food regularly may help you live longer, a new study suggests.

According to the findings, people who frequently consume spicy foods have a lower risk of death, including death from cancer.

International researchers looked at over 487,000 men and women aged between 30 and 79 years. All completed detailed questionnaires about their general health and diet and they were followed up for an average of over seven years, during which time, more than 20,000 died.

The study found that people who consumed spicy foods once or twice a week had a 10% reduced risk of death compared to those who ate such foods less than once a week.

Those who ate spicy foods between three and sevens days a week had a 14% reduced risk of death.

This link was similar among both men and women, although it was stronger among those who did not drink alcohol.

The researchers found that the frequent consumption of spicy foods was specifically linked to a lower risk of death from cancer, heart disease and respiratory diseases. This link was more noticeable in women.

Among those who said they regularly ate spicy foods, the most commonly used spices were fresh and dried chilli peppers. A further analysis by the researchers suggested that the regular consumption of fresh chilli was linked to a lower risk of death from cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

The researchers acknowledged that this was an observational study, so no definitive conclusions can be drawn, but they believe more research in this area may ‘lead to updated dietary recommendations'.

They suggested that some of the bioactive ingredients of spices may be responsible for these results, such as capsaicin, which is thought to have anti-obesity and anti-inflammation properties.

Details of these findings are published in the British Medical Journal.