Shed Extra Pounds the HOT Way!
We will nip whatever misinterpretations may be building in your minds in the bud by saying – it’s not THAT kind of hot. A feature on WebMD shared an interesting weight-loss aid, just in time for anyone looking for a way to shed any weight that may have been gained during Thanksgiving.
Peppers are commonly known as an ingredient that adds spice and kick to any dish. Beyond just giving your taste buds a jolt, however, these hot fruits (as opposed to vegetables) can help in weight loss, among other health benefits.
Nutritional experts say that both sweet and spicy peppers are rich in phytochemicals, compounds that occur naturally in plants. David Heber, MD, PhD, and professor of medicine and public health, as well as chief and founding director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Division of Clinical Nutrition at UCLA, shared that there are close to a million phytochemicals have been identified in nature.
The phytochemicals that are found in peppers have antioxidant abilities, and the family of phytochemicals present in them depends upon the color of the pepper. Peppers come in various colors, including red, green and yellow.
Dr. Heber and his colleagues at the UCLA is using peppers in their efforts towards helping obese patients on an 800-calorie a day diet. He shared: “When you’re on a low-calorie diet, your metabolic rate goes down about 20 percent to 15 percent, and exercise will not raise it… we wanted to see if chili peppers increase metabolism in cases like these.”
The heat in peppers comes from a flavorless, odorless, colorless compound called capsaicin, and Heber said that it has been shown to slightly curb appetite. A compound that is similar to capsaicin – a synthetic form of dihydrocapsiate (DCT) – was given to obese patients as a supplement. The study showed that those who were taking the DCT supplement burned an extra 80 calories a day.
While Dr. Heber clarified that peppers are not exactly “weight-loss wonders,” they make a good addition to the diet of anyone trying to lose weight.
Tags: pepper lose weight, pepper weight loss, weight loss, weight loss diet, weight loss food
