Chili Containing Meals May Improve Metabolism

Category: Diet and Nutrition

Many are familiar with the warm in the mouth or belly after eating a spicy meal containing chilis or chili spice. Well this heat may not be for not. Previous studies in animals and humans have shown that chili has the ability to increase metabolism and perhaps affect fat metabolism. This would be great news for individuals trying to lose weight, especially due to the ease of adding a little spice to most of your favorite foods.

To investigate this effect researchers at the University of Tasmania in Australia looked at fasting and postprandial insulin and glucose levels in volunteers after bland and chili containing meals. Then each meal type was tested following a similar or opposite meal to see if the effects of the chili could be cumulative.

They found that blood sugar response was improved after a meal containing chili and was increased with a subsequent chili meal versus a subsequent bland meal. Energy expenditure was also increased in comparison to insulin delivery in the chili and chili after chili meal groups.

The study was only four weeks and longer term trials are needed to determine if any effect on weight loss and blood sugar metabolism can be sustained by simply adding chili to the diet, though authors were satisfied with this preliminary evidence.

Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on December 28, 2013 10:00 AM