In this era of kale, arugula, fruits, and vegetables, there comes Siracha. Wait? Siracha? Yep, you bet. Ever since my Junior year of high school, I’ve been putting hot sauce on my food whether it be my omelet for breakfast, salad at lunch time, or veggie burger around dinner, everything is just a little better with hot sauce. Entering my junior year, I became extremely health conscious and read all of the nutrition facts in the book. One thing that I repeatedly came across was the correlation between consumption of spicy sauces/foods and improved weight loss. There is a science behind this observation and data that can prove this to be true.

Spicy foods speed up your metabolism by 8%, according to a FitDay article. Specifically, in hot peppers, there is capsaicin. Capsaicin is what makes the peppers hot or give us that spicy taste in our mouths while consuming it. A group of researchers at University of Wyoming conducted an experiment in which they used mice to measure the affects of capsaicin consumption. According to a CBS news article, all humans have a bundle of what we call Brown Fat… Brown fat, is different from the fat that our body holds onto, infact the more we build up brown fat, the more calories we burn in an hours time span, as it can “burn up to 300 calories in 24 hours” (Shallow 1). Capsaicin, specifically, increases the conversion of white fat to brown, making our bodies more susceptible to burn more calories (Shallow 2). I think it is clear that next time you are debating on ordering the salad without chili peppers, might as well try it! It is important to note however, that eating chili peppers, along with wings, fries, and milkshakes, will not get you your dream bikini body. This is the reason why we cannot say that correlation proves causation. There are plenty third variables that can interfere with you weight loss, so do not just rely on peppers for success! Although experimental data has been collected to show this causation, in a natural setting, where there is not control over third variables, this may not always be the case, in fact it most likely will not be if other changes aren’t made to ones overall diet. A balanced diet, combined with ritual exercise will help you reach your goals.

While Capsaicin can play a role in weight loss, others argue that spice in general curbs hunger, and keeps us full longer. This can be true as well. In a recent Mercola article, it is noted that, “Spicy foods increase satiety, helping you to feel full while eating less, and hot peppers may even help your body to burn more calories. Capsaicin has actually been used to selectively destroy nerve fibers that transmit information from your gut to your brain” (Mercola 1). In most simple terms, communication from your stomach to your brain is cut off when consuming the right amount of spicy foods. This is the defining mechanism for the reason why our bodies work like this. This ultimately will decrease the amount of food we take in, while lowering our caloric intake for the rest of the day.

In my opinion, spicy foods have had many physical affects on my body. After eating spicy foods, I can go much longer until my next meal. But it is important to realize that spices are not the only answer! If you don’t eat spicy foods or enjoy spicy sauces, relax! It is not a determinant of weight loss. All I am saying is that everything little counts, and that is just another ingredient for the overall success in weight loss.