Magic eightball says the “signs point to yes”!

I like many of you like to eat foods that are on the hot side of the spicy scale. I have heard a lot of folks swear by them from everything from joint pain, cholesterol levels, weight loss, and longer life. Recent research has begun to shed more light on many of these more spectacular health claims.

Research on hot peppers is promising. In fact, recent research out of Vermont indicated that regular hot pepper consumption can lead to 13% reduction in mortality. Does this mean you will live longer if you eat hot peppers? Maybe. What it really means is that we will all live longer if we eat hot peppers on the average.

How do they do this? It is unclear but they may have an anti-inflammatory response. Hot peppers have also been linked to increased metabolism and weight loss. I suspect the effect is caused by capsaicin, but it may be just from not eating as much.

Should you add them to your diet? I would recommend it if you can tolerate it. Some of our stomachs can stand it and some can’t. If you can’t tolerate them, do not add them. Making yourself miserable to live a few days to months is just torture.

The bottom line: Those little chillis may for more than just spice up your food. Hot peppers may help you live longer and they may just help you lose weight. If your digestion can tolerate it, I suggest adding them to your diet. The best part is they are delicious.