Eating spicy foods might temporarily boost your metabolism and help you burn calories. Chili, horseradish, mustard and ginger might all have a thermogenic effect, though the benefits might be small and temporary. However, little spikes in calorie usage do add up. It takes a 3,500-calorie deficit to lose 1 lb. of body fat. If you can burn an extra 100 or so calories daily by eating spicy foods, you could lose about 1 lb. per month without making any other dietary changes.
Metabolism Basics
Your metabolism can be divided into three separate parts. Your basal metabolic rate -- the energy used to keep your body functioning via countless chemical processes that include blood circulation, new cell growth and hormone production -- accounts for between 50 and 80 percent of expended energy. Your physical activity uses about 20 percent of the metabolic energy and digestion, which only accounts for up to 10 percent of your metabolism. Eating spicy foods would ideally increase the thermic effect of your food and increase the amount of energy used in digestion.
Capsaicin
Capsaicin is the chemical compound in chili peppers that makes them so spicy. The more capsaicin in a pepper, the hotter it is. The amount of capsaicin is measured in heat units on the Scoville scale. A banana pepper of pepperoncini might have between 100 and 500 heat units, but a jalapeno pepper has 5,000 heat units, and a habanero chili can have 250,000 heat units. According to a study in the "American Journal of Physiology," capsaicin might be a tool for weight management because of its thermogenic properties, but "when it is used clinically, it requires a strong compliance to a certain dosage; that has not been shown to be feasible yet."
Metabolism Boost or Appetite Suppressant?
Spicy foods might help you lose weight, but how? Although a proven thermogenic effect raises your metabolism and helps your body burn more calories, a 2006 "New York Times" article suggests that spicy foods might work as an appetite suppressant. Spicy foods can increase your metabolism about 8 percent, but more importantly, they might increase your feeling of satiety and help you consume fewer calories. A study of adult men who ate a spicy hot sauce before their meal shows that those men typically ate 200 calories less than the test subjects who did not consume any capsaicin.
Speeding Up Metabolism
Although eating spicy foods might help you lose weight, more effective ways to boost your metabolism and burn more calories can be utilized. Regular exercise, especially strength training exercises that build muscle mass, will rev up your basal metabolic rate. Muscle tissue uses more energy than fat, even at rest, so the greater your ratio of muscle to fat, the busier your metabolism will be. Make sure you consume enough calories that your metabolism doesn't slow down to conserve energy. The American College of Sports Medicine notes that people need between 1,200 and 1,800 calories daily. In general, men need more calories than women, active people need more calories than sedentary people and younger people need more calories than older people.
References
- Better Health Channel: Metabolism Explained
- "American Journal of Physiology"; "Obesity and Thermogenesis Related to the Consumption of Caffeine, Ephedrine, Capsaicin, and Green Tea"; K. Diepvens et al.; January 2007
- "New York Times"; "The Claim: Spicy Foods Increase Metabolism"; Anahad O'Connor; November 2006
- NBC Today Health; "Diet Mistakes that Slow Down Your Metabolism"; May 2010
- American College of Sports Medicine; "Metabolism is Modifiable with the right Lifestyle Changes"; March 26, 2009
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