Can Eating Chili Peppers Really Help You Lose Weight?

You've probably heard it before: eating spicy foods can burn both your tongue and calories! But is this weight loss myth really true? With the Beijinger Hot & Spicy Festival 2019 rapidly approaching (Apr 20-21 at Galaxy Soho, book early bird tickets here), and with it our famous two days of chili pepper eating contests, performances, DJs, and of course the best hot and spicy food that Beijing has to offer, we figured it was high time to resolve this burning question... 

The myth

After Beyoncé admitted to using the cayenne pepper diet for Dreamgirls, this belief underwent a lot of scrutiny from the media and the scientific community. And although that particular extreme diet is not at all advisable, it seems there might be some truth to the idea that spice can give you an extra dieting boost. So can eating spicy food help you to lose weight?

So the answer is yes... and no. Let us explain.

The science

One of the primary active ingredients in chili peppers is called capsaicin. This is what causes all those symptoms – the burning, sweating, etc – that we know and love about spicy food. According to some studies, this component can also reduce your appetite and speed up your metabolism, encouraging your body to burn more fat and calories.

What's the catch?

There are some things to keep in mind if you're considering increasing your spicy food intake just for the sake of shedding some pounds.

Firstly, while capsaicin can speed up your metabolism, the effects are temporary and limited. Even if the boost lasts a couple of hours, a slight increase in metabolism will only burn a few extra calories before your body returns to normal. If you've ever tried calorie counting, you know that a little difference like that can be useful, but it isn't drastic.

Lastly, scientists just aren't fully convinced yet. While studies like this one from Maastricht University in the Netherlands have shown a short-term confirmation of decreased appetite and reduced calorie and fat intake, this one from Purdue University suggests that frequent spicy food eaters can build up a sort of tolerance towards these weight loss effects. It also seems the effects may be weaker on people who are overweight or obese.

So where does that leave us?

While there really does appear to be some truth behind this myth, in the end, it's still a bit of a mystery, and it's going to take a lot more studies and tests before we really understand how to make peppers work for us in our weight loss goals.

That being said, if it fits into your dieting plan, there's no good reason not to include some spice! Acting alone, peppers might not be strong enough to show real, calculable results, but combined with healthy eating and exercise, that little extra boost could make a difference.

Another great thing? Spicy food is delicious! So we highly encourage you to incorporate more of it into your diet (at the Beijinger Hot & Spicy Festival 2019, for example) and just let it do its thing.

READ: Test Your Knowledge of Chili Peppers, Win Tickets to the Hot & Spicy Festival (Apr 20-21)

This article originally appeared on Gourmandize.

Images: the Beijinger