Eating hot red chili peppers could lengthen your life. Researchers at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont have found that consuming the peppers may reduce total mortality. The study found a 13 percent reduction in total mortality, particularly in heart attacks and strokes, in people who consumed hot red chili peppers on a regular basis. For the study, researchers used data from over 16,000 Americans during a 23-year time period from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey.