Does Eating Spicy Foods Help You Lose Weight?

Spicy food might make you sweat, but it could also help you eat more slowly and avoid overeating, according to a new study. Eating too quickly is linked to obesity, high blood pressure, and elevated triglyceride levels.

How Spicy Food Helps You Eat Less

To examine how spiciness affects eating behavior, researchers served adult participants beef chili and chicken tikka masala seasoned with varying amounts of sweet and hot paprika.

When the meals were moderately spicy, participants ate more slowly and consumed 11% to 18% less food.

“All we changed was the amount of hot paprika that we added to meals so that they were moderately spicy, and this relatively small change was enough to significantly reduce energy intake,” Paige Cunningham, PhD, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral scholar at The Pennsylvania State University, told Verywell in an email.

All meals included water, but participants drank similar amounts regardless of spiciness. This suggests the lower intake wasn’t due to drinking more water. Participants also reported enjoying the spicy meals just as much as the milder ones.

“Simply adding chili pepper to a meal—just enough to make it spicy without changing how much you like it—might help reduce how much you eat,” Cunningham said.

Can Hot Chili Peppers Help With Weight Loss?

Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their heat, has been touted as a potential weight loss aid. Some retailers sell capsaicin supplements that claim to burn fat, control appetite, and manage weight.

Capsaicin has an anti-inflammatory effect that could help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, according to John “Wesley” McWhorter, DrPH, RD, a Houston-based registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

It may also trigger thermogenesis, a process that boosts metabolism, but research shows it’s unlikely to have a meaningful impact on long-term weight control in humans.

Who Should Avoid Spicy Foods?

You don’t need to eat spicy foods if they don’t sit well with you. They may not be recommended for people with certain health conditions, such as acid reflux, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and celiac disease.

“The same is true if you experience shortness of breath, chest pain, heart palpitations, or allergic reactions after consuming spicy foods,” Emma M. Laing, PhD, RDN, FAND, a clinical professor and director of dietetics at the University of Georgia, told Verywell in an email.

Spicy foods offer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits and may support heart, gut, and skin health. However, people who avoid them can still meet their nutritional needs with other food sources.

“Eating a variety of foods has a greater potential to benefit health vs. any single food or ingredient. Spicy or not—fruits, vegetables, protein, whole grains, and healthy fats provide your body with the nutrients to support its function,” Laing said.

If You Can’t Tolerate Spicy Foods, Eating Slowly Helps Too

Spicy foods won’t guarantee weight loss, but adding some heat to your meals may promote mindful eating.

“We don’t yet fully understand why eating slowly causes people to eat less, but it has been proposed that eating slowly means that food is spending more time in the mouth, greater oro-sensory exposure, which in turn promotes feedback to the brain and to the gut to signal fullness,” Cunningham said.

There are other ways to slow down your eating without adding paprika or chili flakes.

Try chatting with a friend or coworker during lunch instead of scrolling on your phone. McWhorter said even taking a few fewer bites while enjoying a conversation could reduce your intake by around 100 calories a day.