Nutritional Benefits of Spicy Food

A Delicious Way to Lose Weight

In our society where obesity is such a problem, one of the most desirable health benefits of a substance is weight loss. This is one of the first areas of research that scientists conducted on the health benefits of spicy food, and it turns out that eating it does have a very positive effect on weight loss. According to research conducted on the metabolism-boosting effects of spicy foods, an increase of metabolism up to eight percent is achieved temporarily after eating spicy foods.

As well as making your body burn more calories, eating spicy food also helps you to eat consume fewer calories. Research has shown that people who eat spicy food eat less. In fact, a Canadian research study found that men who ate an appetizer with hot sauce at the beginning of a meal ate 200 fewer calories of food on average than men who ate an appetizer without hot sauce.

A Method of Cancer Prevention

Turmeric is a spice that is popular in many types of foods. It is an especially important spice in Indian cuisine. Turmeric contain the chemical curcumin, which has been shown to destroy cancer cells in lab research. In addition, capsaicin holds a lot of promise as a cancer-fighting agent. Capsaicin is the chemical in chili peppers that makes them spicy. According to research funded by the American Cancer Society, the growth of prostate cancer cells has been slowed by an application of capsaicin.

Boost Your Heart Health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. It affects both men and women of all ages. Fortunately, there are lots of steps you can take to boost the health of your heart, and eating more spicy food is a great way to start. Research has shown that capsaicin, in addition to fighting cancer, can also boost the health of your cardiovascular system.

It appears that capsaicin works to lower the amount of bad cholesterol in the body. According to research conducted by the American Chemical Society, capsaicin increases the rate at which the body breaks down LDL, which is the unhealthy type of cholesterol. In the course of this research, the team conducting it also found that capsaicin blocks a gene that constricts the blood vessels. This means that a health benefit of spicy food is to keep your blood vessels dilated, decreasing blood pressure and allowing your heart to more efficiently pump blood through your body.

Good Old Nutritional Value

Of course, one of the first things that people want to know about the food they are eating is how nutritious it is. It turns out that spicy foods are quite nutritious. It seems that the chili peppers that are popular in spicy foods are chock full of Vitamin C as well as a host of minerals. The Vitamin C in spicy food is particularly helpful to boost the immune system. Among the health benefits of Mexican food is cold and flu prevention.

As you can see, there is a host of health benefits you will reap when you eat spicy foods. If you want to enjoy the health benefits of Mexican food, come in and see us at Benito’s. We serve authentic Mexican food that is consistently rated as some of the best in Fort Worth.