Curry 'helps you live longer': Eating spicy food makes you 10% less likely to die says research

People who ate spicy meals once or twice a week are 10 per cent likely to die than those who had them less, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences found

Fiery foods could literally be the spice of life - as they can boost chances of living longer, researchers found.

People who ate spicy meals like curry favourites tikka masala, jalfrezi and vindaloo once or twice a week were 10% less likely to die than those who had them less. Munching spicy foods daily led to a 14% lower risk of death.

In the biggest study of its kind, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences also found regular spice eaters were far less likely to die if they had diabetes, cancer, or heart or respiratory disease.

Fresh and dried chilli peppers were the most commonly used spice in the study of 500,000 people aged between 30 and 80.

But researchers said the findings were “observational” and eating lots of spicy food could be linked to other lifestyle choices.

Dr Nita Forouhi, of the University of Cambridge , said: “More research is needed.”

A bioactive ingredient in spices, ¬capsaicin, was already thought to be anti-obesity, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer.

And any positives from spice could be wiped out if people drank more booze or exercised less, experts warned.