Research

Energy balance

Consuming 2.56 mg of capsaicin with every meal during a negative energy balance prevents the typical reduction in resting energy expenditure and diet-induced thermogenesis, thereby supporting fat oxidation without increasing blood pressure.

If you are dieting, adding a specific amount of capsaicin (approx. 2.56 mg per meal, found in about 1 gram of red chili pepper) to your meals may help maintain your metabolic rate and burn more fat, without raising your blood pressure. This strategy works best if you are already used to eating spicy foods and are in a caloric deficit.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
In an effectively 20.5% negative energy balance, consumption of 2.56 mg capsaicin per meal supports negative energy balance by counteracting the unfavorable negative energy balance effect of decrease in components of energy expenditure. Moreover, consumption of 2.56 mg capsaicin per meal promotes fat oxidation in negative energy balance and does not increase blood pressure significantly.
Pilou L. H. R. Janssens et al. · PLoS ONE · 2013

Why this rating

Randomized crossover design with respiration chamber measurements, though the sample size was small (n=15) and the study was short-term (acute effects).

Source

Acute Effects of Capsaicin on Energy Expenditure and Fat Oxidation in Negative Energy Balance

Pilou L. H. R. Janssens et al. · PLoS ONE · 2013

DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0067786

crossover · n=19Cited 104×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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