Researches in Italy have found that regularly eating chili peppers can lower the risk of death from heart disease and stroke.

Their study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 
Participants were monitored over a span of eight years. 
Researchers found the risk of dying from a heart attack was 40% lower among those eating chili peppers at least four times a week.

The study also found that death from stroke was cut by more than 50%.

Some outside experts, however, caution against reading too much into the results.
Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior teaching fellow at Aston Medical School in the UK, pointed to its limitations in an interview with CNN. 

"It is plausible people who use chilies, as the data suggests also used more herbs and spices, and as such likely to be eating more fresh foods including vegetables," Mellor told the network.
He adds that any direct effect between chilies and heart health is likely small and that it’s more likely they make eating other healthy foods more pleasurable. 

That kind of critique might help explain the Italian research team's next project: To investigate the biochemical reasons that make chilies good for health.