New Study Sees If Eating Hot Peppers Can Make You Live Longer

In the Borderland, eating spicy foods is a way of life. But can that way of life help your live longer?

A new study is aiming to see if our spicy New Mexico and West Texas way of life can help us live longer. The Public Library of Science published a story this month looking at hot red chili pepper consumption and mortality.

The study was conducted by the University of Vermont College of Medicine and their initial findings are promising for hot red chili pepper lovers. The authors used data from over 16,000 participants in a larger health study. They found that eating hot red chili peppers could possibly reduce a person's risk of dying by 13%.

The study did say that more research needs to be done to see if these results are associated with capsaicin, the substance in peppers that makes them spicy. Capsaicin has properties that may help against heart disease, according to the study. The study also didn't specific exactly how much chili peppers were eaten, or what types were consumed by participants.

Read more about this study at the KRQE website. You can also read the entire study at the  Public Library of Science website.