New evidence that chili pepper ingredient fights fat

American Chemical Society ^ | June 2, 2010 | Unknown

[decimon]

Scientists are reporting new evidence that capsaicin, the stuff that gives chili peppers their kick, may cause weight loss and fight fat buildup by triggering certain beneficial protein changes in the body. Their study, which could lead to new treatments for obesity, appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research.

Jong Won Yun and colleagues point out that obesity is a major public health threat worldwide, linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other health problems. Laboratory studies have hinted that capsaicin may help fight obesity by decreasing calorie intake, shrinking fat tissue, and lowering fat levels in the blood. Nobody, however, knows exactly how capsaicin might trigger such beneficial effects.

In an effort to find out, the scientists fed high-fat diets with or without capsaicin to lab rats used to study obesity. The capsaicin-treated rats lost 8 percent of their body weight and showed changes in levels of at least 20 key proteins found in fat. The altered proteins work to break down fats. "These changes provide valuable new molecular insights into the mechanism of the antiobesity effects of capsaicin," the scientists say.

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ARTICLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE "Proteomic Analysis for Antiobesity Potential of Capsaicin on White Adipose Tissue in Rats Fed with a High Fat Diet"

DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLE http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/pr901175w

CONTACT: Jong Won Yun, Ph.D. Department of Biotechnology Daegu University Kyungsan, Kyungbuk Korea Phone: 82-53-850-6556 Fax: 82-53-850-6559 Email: jwyun@daegu.ac.kr

[irishtenor]

I eat peppers all the time. Even when I weighed 315 pounds. I am not sure that peppers is the answer. I am down to 240, feeling good, and still eating my peppers, but the weight loss has to do with a lot more exercise and eating less.

[Yaelle]

The best salsa in the world is the FRESH (refrigerated) Lucky Habanero salsa! Sadly no photos of the actual fresh, not canned, Lucky Habanero at the link, but it is gooooooood. I could eat it for 3 meals a day.

http://www.thesalsalady.com/about/index.html