5 Surprising Benefits of Spicy Foods

Eating spicy foods can leave a hot, burning sensation on your tongue but did you know that, aside from making you pop beads of sweat, spicy foods actually have plenty of health benefits to provide you with? It appears that adding a little heat to your diet is actually good for your heart and can boost weight loss. Do you want to know more about what eating spicy foods can do for you? Here are five of its surprising benefits that you should know about.

  • It can boost heart health. Studies have shown that countries that have spicy foods as a staple in their table are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular health problems compared to those who don’t eat spicy meals that much. One reason behind this is that the chili present in the food can reduce bad cholesterol while fighting off inflammation that can trigger heart problems.
  • It promotes weight loss. Eating spicy foods appears to be helpful to those who want to shed weight. According to research, the heat from the peppers can actually increase your metabolism up to 5% while your fat burning abilities is increased up to 16%. Also, when you eat spicy foods you are helping to stave off your cravings or hunger so that you will eat less which means that there will be less calorie intake on your part.
  • It reduces blood pressure. Another health benefit that you can get from eating spicy foods is that it can reduce your high blood pressure. Spicy foods tend to contain vitamins A and C which can help strengthen the walls of your heart while the heat coming from chili can increase blood flow so that your blood pressure will normalize. Eating spicy foods, therefore, can help make your heart work properly so your chances of suffering from high blood pressure will be significantly reduced.
  • It can prevent heart disease. Turmeric and peppers are actually good for your heart as they can make your blood vessels dilate. This in turn lowers your blood pressure so you won’t be at risk of stroke or heart attack. Turmeric contains anti-inflammatory properties which can reverse the damage to the blood cells. This helps reduce your LDL levels which is important to keeping your heart in working condition.
  • It can boost your mood. If you’re experiencing mood swings or are often depressed as of late, having a bite of spicy food can actually do wonders to your emotions. This is due to the fact that eating spicy foods can trigger the release of feel-good hormones so you will be feeling much better compared to before.

These are just a few benefits that you can reap from adding a dash of spice to your diet. The best thing about preparing spicy meals is that you can control how much heat you’re going to put to your meal. If you can tolerate a really hot dish then do so, otherwise stick to the more regular heat so as not to burn your tongue off while reaping the numerous health benefits coming from this ingredient.

 

 

 

 

Sources: olwomen.com

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