In the past there have been some reference here and there about the connection between spicy food and weight loss but now a study has found out that red cayenne pepper can burn calories.
The study was conducted by the Purdue University and partially supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Mc Cormick spice company. In this study, published in the Journal, Physiology and Behaviour, it was found that an addition of half a teaspoon of red cayenne pepper along with food or in the form of capsules helped in burning 10 calories in normal adults over a period of 4 hours and this was done in comparison with non-pepper meal. In addition to burning calories it was also found that it helped in reducing the appetite.
The researcher Richard Mattes, distinguished professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University in West Lafayette, opines that pepper stimulates trigeminal nerve which is a prime nerve in the head and neck. "Chemesthesis is the term for chemical irritation, and that's the sense that this work focused on," Mattes says. "What we were interested in is, does activation of that system lead to increases in energy expenditure, alterations in appetite and food intake, and so on."
Experimenting on Pepper
For the study purposes, 25 men and women from college campus were selected and their average age was 23. Also the body mass index of these individuals selected was 22. 13 of them were regular spicy food eater while 12 of them did not eat spicy food. The volunteers were made to undergo six study visits separated by a week each and were strictly instructed against indulging in caffeine, alcohol and even rigorous exercises before lab tests.
During the study they were made to eat red pepper for three weeks randomly. This was either mixed in food or given in the form of capsules. Besides this, the participants were checked for calorie expenditure before and after food with the help of a ventilation hood. Also their appetite was checked using a questionnaire.
Matte states that the responses to the pepper differed in people who liked and those who disliked pepper. He says that the effect of burning calories seemed to reduce once the person got used to spicy food. Matte says that the pepper effect was higher in people who were not used to pepper at all. So he suggests that the further studies would concentrate on how long the pepper would be effective in an individual and how much of a time gap is required for the pepper to start becoming effective again.
There have also been other studies previously on pepper but the quantity suggested was too high for practical application.
