You may have heard that spicy foods help in weight loss. Do they?

They can!

Researchers have found that all of us have what is known as brown fat and white fat in our bodies. Our white fat tends to lead to weight gain, while the brown fat can help our bodies lose weight because brown fat burns more calories.

So how can someone get more brown fat? Cold temperatures are said to help. (So don’t turn on the space heaterunder your desk when chilly at owrk; put on a light sweater and enjoy the “act” of creating more calorie-burning brown fat in your body as you shiver lightly.)

Spicy food also helps. Researchers in 2013 published a study in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care in which they reported that they gave a group of people with little or no brown fat capsinoids (naturally present in chili peppers) each day for six weeks. At the end of the research study, this group of people burned calories at a higher rate and had lower body fat at the end of the study (compared to a control group that didn’t consume the capsinoids).

Who knew!? Chili con carne and other hot and spicy Tex Mex dishes can help boost your metabolism and aid in weight loss.

 So if spicy foods can help you raise your metabolism, it’s time to eat more Tex-Mex food! You will be, to paraphrase the slogan, eating great and losing weight!

Most Tex Mex food can be made as spicy – or not – as you’d like. Most dishes aren’t spicy at all and you actually may need to ask your server to make sure the chef piles on the spices (per your taste, of course).

Chile relleno is an entrée that tends to be spicy all on its own.

You also can definitely add lots of salsa onto any meal – spice it up to taste. You can also spread the salsa on tortilla chips (or dip the chips in the salsa).

If you’d like to enjoy Tex Mex cuisine as spicy as you can stand it, visit a Mattito’s nearest you and let your server know you like your dishes hot and spicy!

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