Has anyone found any documentation on the benefits of eating spicy food for your metabolism? I eat tons of hot peppers (not for diet purposes, i just like them) and i began to wonder if that was possibly helping my diet along.

I found one place that talked about how eating spicy food helps burn calories because your body temperature rises and all that stuff, but i wasn't sure how credible that is.

any thoughts?

I would rather rely on raising my body temperature and boosting my metabolism through strenuous exercise than on the consumption of a certain type of food.

Sounds like this theory should join the ranks of the 2342152324 other dieting myths that are out there.

any help it may bring, would probably be very minor.

Just like the effect of caffeine and increasing metabolism. But still, better than nothing! Just don't eat more cuz you think you'll burn it off by eating spicy foods..

naw, i keep my eating to a good calorie counted plan, i was just curious

Hi.

this is what I found on askmen.com in the eating well section:

Do spicy foods boost metabolism?
Although spicy dishes do give your metabolism a slight boost, the effect is minor and it definitely won't make a significant difference if you're trying to shed some pounds. Some diet plans even claim that grapefruit and bee pollen raise metabolism and are useful for weight loss; unfortunately, there is no scientific basis for this belief.

If you really want to speed up your metabolism, exercise -- it has the greatest effect on caloric expenditure and metabolic rate. The good news is that you not only burn calories during exercise but also for an extended period of time after your workout depending on its duration and intensity.

However, you shouldn't rely exclusively on cardiovascular exercise (jogging, swimming, etc.) to rid yourself of those love handles. In fact, weight training plays an even more significant role by increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat, which enables your metabolism to work harder all day to fuel your muscles. For each pound of muscle you gain, you can burn up to 60 more calories a day.

The Bottom Line: Forget all those miracle weight-loss solutions; start an exercise program that includes both cardiovascular exercise and weight training three to five days a week.

Spicy food and ice water. That'll burn all the calories away!