A new study shows people who eat spicy food every day are less likely to die from cancer, heart disease or respiratory diseases.

Scientists from Peking University studied half a million Chinese adults between the ages of 30 and 79 over four years. They excluded people who already had cancer, heart disease or who had suffered from a stroke.

At the outset they asked them to describe how many times a week they ate spicy food and what kind of spice they used in their cooking.

Follow-up visits showed those who ate spicy food most days had been 14% less likely to die over the course of the study.

In women, it also corresponded with a reduced risk of death from infections.

Men and women who did not consume alcohol were most likely to benefit from the healthy effects of eating spice.

Researchers writing in the BMJ stressed the findings were correlational; eating spicy food may also be linked to other dietary habits, lifestyle choices or socio-economic status.

"For example, in Chinese cuisine the cooking of chilli pepper and the production of chilli sauce and oil usually requires more oil, and intake of pungent foods may be accompanied by an increased intake of carbohydrate-rich foods such as rice to relieve the burning sensation," they said.

Fig 1 Analysis of the link between consuming spicy foods more than 6 days a week and death showed fresh chilli is the most beneficial spice to eat

Chilli peppers

Fresh chilli peppers seem to be the most healthy spice to eat. Scientists are not sure why they have an effect on our health, but the bioactive ingredient capsaicin is known to have many health benefits.

Capsaican has antibacterial properties and was previously known to be linked to lower rates of cancer.

Eating red peppers is also known to decrease appetite for some people and as such could reduce the risk of being overweight or obese. That in turn could protect from heart disease and gastrointestinal and skin conditions.

The authors say the results could lead to dietary recommendations being updated.