Pepper Compounds for Weight Management

A meta-analysis by Perdue University (Indiana, USA) reports that certain compounds in hot peppers, as well as sweet peppers, help to promote energy expenditure suppress appetite.  Richard D. Mattes and colleagues have identified that capsaicin (found in hot peppers) and capsiates (present in sweet peppers) both exert thermogenic effects when consumed. Writing that: “The magnitude of these effects is small,” the study authors conclude that: "Purposeful inclusion of these compounds in the diet may aid weight management, albeit modestly.”