Not everyone can handle spicy additions to their regular food intake, but the newest research on the subject shows that those who favor this kind of flavors might actually live longer, as it appears that spicy food and longevity are connected in a way.

A health study hailing from China found an interesting link between spicy food and longevity after surveying more than 485,000 people, and it was found that those who consumed hot foods on a weekly basis (particularly different chili peppers) were actually less likely to die at a young age.

According to The New York Times, the spicy food longevity study found that those who had a preference for hot foods were far less likely to develop ischemic heart disease, different types of cancer and respiratory disease, and although the researchers didn't pinpoint exactly the cause and effect relation, they noted that capsaicin (an important ingredient in chili peppers), in the past has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Of course, there may be other causes for the spicy food longevity theory, such as the lifestyle associated with eating hotter foods; for example, it was found that the people who consumed more foods of this nature were more likely to live in rural areas, and there's of course a particular lifestyle associated with this.

"Supportive data from population-based studies are sparse," Lu Qi, the lead author of the spicy food longevity study, told CBS News. "For the first time, we reported that intake of spicy food might benefit health and lower risk of death in a large population. This is significant because consumption of spicy foods is common in many populations."

The spicy food longevity study was published in the most recent issue of British Medical Journal (BMJ) under the name "Consumption of spicy foods and total and cause specific mortality: population based cohort study."