Can Spicy Food Actually Help You Lose Weight?

Posted on January 21st, 2020 By in Diet and Weightloss Read Time: 11 mins.

Yes. It can. And not just because of a trip to the restroom, if you know what I mean! In this blazing hot post I’ll explore how adding a little bit of spice to your life might actually lead to a bit of a lower number on the scale.๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿผ

does spicy food help with weightloss?
Is Spicy Food Actually Slimming?

“It’s more tingly than hot”, Harry unconvincingly proclaims to Lloyd in the beloved ‘hot sauce’ scene from ‘Dumb and Dumber.’

Did you know that despite Harry and Lloyd’s hilariously uncomfortable experience, they could have been trimming down their waistlines by eating spicy?

eating spicy foods like dumb and dumber
“It’s More Tingly Than Hot!”

(Maybe they were doing it on purpose to fit into their.. er.. ‘bold’.. blue and orange suits later on in Aspen..๐Ÿ˜‚)

But how can spicy food help you lose weight? Let’s explore.

How does eating spicy help you lose weight?

One word: Capsaicinoids…Say that ten times fast!

Capsaicinoids are compounds found in peppers that give them their spice, and they are the main reason most of us literally sweat while eating spicy foods!

The main Capsaicinoid responsible for the burning sensation is called ‘Capsaicin’, and it triggers a thermogenic reaction in our cells, causing our bodies to produce heat from stored fuel.

(Fun fact, birds do not react to spicy foods. So a few drops of Frank’s Red Hot in the bird feeder will go unappreciated.)

The increased fuel requirement that your body uses through thermogenesis, in reaction to the capsaicin, means your body is literally burning more calories after eating spicy food!

But that’s not the only way spicy foods help you lose weight. Check this out:

In addition to triggering thermogenesis, capsaicin also stimulate an enzyme called lipase, which breaks down the fat in our bodies so we can use it for fuel.

So to summarize, spicy foods DO help you lose weight by creating a one-two punch of:

  • More calories burned
  • Breaking down fat to be used as fuel

Okay. So we’ve got the science down. More or less.

But is this realistically going to cause real-world difference, or would you need to eat like a bajillion habaneros to get a somewhat noticeable result?

You’d Have to Eat a Bajillion Habaneros.

Look. If losing weight from spicy food was as simple as a little bit of Frank’s Red Hot on my avocado toast every morning, I’d be thinner than the field of this year’s bachelor contestants.

And I’m not. (YET!) Totally getting there as I work on my New Year’s Resolutions.

But yeah. As you may have guessed, the spicier the pepper, the higher the concentration of capsaiconoids, and the more of a caloric burn you are going to get.

Using the Scoville rating of a pepper will tell you how capsaicinoid-dense it is.

Your average Jalepeno scores about 4,000 Scovilles, while a fiery habanero comes in at around 200,000 scorching Scovilles!

Scooby Doo & Shaggy Loved Spicy Foods
Zoinks! That’s Hot!

The hottest ever recorded was the Naga Viper- a genetical mutant pepper made by combining 3 different pepper species.

When the dust settled, the Viper had tipped the Scoville scale at a nightmare-ish 1.4 million Scovilles!

But Can I Lose Weight Without Eating Crazy Hot Peppers tho?

So let’s be realistic here. You probably are not going anywhere near a Naga Viper anytime soon to try and lose weight.

And if you’re a ‘spicy light-weight’ like me, you aren’t even touching the Tabasco!

But that doesn’t mean we can’t all benefit from the awesome slimming effects of Capsaicin.

Because one of our research partners actually produced a Capsaicin extract with a natural speciality coating that let’s you ingest pure standardized capsaicin with ZERO spicy sensation or stomach discomfort.

It is called ‘CapsiMax‘, and it is one of the 5 patented ingredients in our top-selling diet / weight-management product: Vulcan Advanced Muscle Toner and Rapid Fat Loss Agent.

Our users report that Vulcan works within just a few days, and provides exceptional results when combined with a disciplined diet and exercise program.

So if you’re looking to get some of the natural weight-loss benefits of hot peppers without having to resort to the ketchup and mustard bottle for relief (another Dumb and Dumber reference to their ‘coolant’ of choice๐Ÿ˜†), grab a jar of Vulcan natural fat burner.


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2023 UNICOยฎ Nutrition | All rights reserved


These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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