Burn More Fat in Two Simple Steps

Turning the heat up—or down—might be the secret to dropping more pounds: Prolonged exposure to cold temperatures and regular consumption of spicy foods may both help you burn more fat, according to a recent study published in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care.

Researchers have known for a while now that, while white fat leads to weight gain, brown fat actually helps your body burn more calories and promotes weight loss. What they didn't know? How exactly to increase the amount of brown fat in people who don't already have a ton of it. Since previous animal studies have suggested that cold temps might do the trick, researchers exposed a group of people with low or nonexistent levels of brown fat to 17° Celsius (that's about 63° Fahrenheit) for two hours a day for a total of six weeks. It worked: At the end of the six weeks, they had more brown fat and were burning more calories. What's more, their body fat mass had also decreased by the end of the study. 

Of course, it's not realistic for everyone who wants to lose weight to spend two hours a day in the cold—so researchers wanted to see if they could mimic this effect in another way. They took another group of people with low or no brown fat and had them consume capsinoids, which are naturally present in chili peppers, daily for six weeks. While a placebo group didn't see any major changes, the experimental group had significantly higher calorie burn and lower body fat at the end of the study.

Pretty exciting stuff—especially if you're a fan of spicy food already. And if you're not, well, you can always turn down the thermostat—particularly when you're sleeping.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/spicy-food-for-weight-loss