We love anything hot, hot, hot. It adds flavor and helps digest your food better. So a few studies we read up on that show peppers can help you lose weight made us REALLY happy.

Here’s the skinny: scientists at the Laval University in Quebec recently had one group of test participants take cayenne pepper at breakfast. Those who did had a smaller appetite throughout the day, so they ate less. A Purdue University study also suggests that peppers can curb appetite.

In a recent article on the health benefits of hot peppers in the Las Cruces Sun-News by S. Derrickson Moore, New Mexico State University Regents Professor of Horticulture Paul Bosland states that research shows hot peppers “can help lower cholesterol and help burn calories by triggering a thermodynamic bum, which speeds up the metabolism.”

Other research indicates that capsaicin from cayenne and other chile peppers may inhibit the growth of fat cells by activating AMP-activated protein kinase.

So add a little hot pepper to every dish!