Does Spicy Food Burn Fat? (From A Dietitian)

Research shows that eating spicy foods will trigger a thermogenic effect [1]. What this does is slightly raise your core body temperature by burning more calories. And those calories come from stored body fat.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can simply add chilies to your burger, pizza, and other junk food to make up for poor diet choices.

But when you burn calories through a boosted metabolism, and you generally eat a healthy diet, then you can get to your weight loss goals a lot faster.

That fat burn effect is triggered through a substance called capsaicin, which you’ll find in higher concentrations in hot and spicy ingredients [2].

What it does is send signals to your brain to boost fat metabolism to release more energy.

“Capsaicin is one of many alkaloids that is referred to as a Capsaicinoid, which are commonly associated with chili products of the family solanaceae (subfamily capsicum).”

- Kamal Patel, Editor & Co-founder of examine.com

And it can be surprisingly easy for you to regularly add more of this kind of metabolism booster to your meal plans.

Dice up some chicken and fry it in a pan. Then add a simple tomato-based sauce and turn down the heat.

Next, chop up some garlic and hot peppers. If you don’t like things too spicy, then you can also choose something other than jalapenos or consider removing the seeds.

Add everything into the mix and let it simmer away for 20 minutes for the flavors to blend.

Refreshing Drink

I also like to create lemon, turmeric, and ginger iced tea. Boil up some water and add a tea bag to a small jug.

Leave the tea bag in the water for about 5 minutes, and then squeeze it out. Add a few slices of fresh ginger and squeeze half a lemon in as well. 

Finally, add half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and let it all blend in.

Eating spicy food can help you lose fat, but there are also other benefits beyond dealing with obesity or a cutting phase.

Scientists have also found that curcumin in turmeric and other spices can also help with inflammation [3].

These tests were conducted on people with arthritis but can also help with other forms of joint inflammation.

Another study found that cumin can have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties that will promote better gut health [4].

And an even more interesting UCLA study found that having spicy food once a day could increase your life expectancy by up to 14% [5].

All these benefits of eating spicy food add up to better general health.