What Are The Health Benefits Of Spicy Food?

If you're a fan of spicy food, we have some good news for you.

Thrillist reports that researchers at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine have published a study linking red hot chile pepper consumption to a "13 percent reduction in total mortality." The bottom line? Gorging on hot sauce might not be so bad for you after all.

The study doesn't reveal specific health benefits nor exactly how these fiery fruits might lengthen life expectancy. It does, however, state that capsaicin, an ingredient found in different types of hot peppers, could be beneficial for your gut.

"Although the mechanism by which peppers could delay mortality is far from certain, Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels, which are primary receptors for pungent agents such as capsaicin (the principal component in chili peppers), may in part be responsible for the observed relationship," the authors report.

So if you find yourself craving a plate of hot wings on Super Bowl Sunday, we say go for it.