Exercise, diet, and deprivation--the dreaded regimen of many a New Year's resolution. But keep in mind, as you pound through endless miles on the treadmill and puff your way up imaginary flights on the stair machine, that healthy eating does not necessarily mean unsatisfying food served with a flourish of blandness. As you feel the burn in your thighs, remember that burning your mouth with chiles, hot sauces, and salsas is a much more pleasurable way to boost your metabolism. And take heart, while you breathlessly race to increase your cardiovascular rate, that chile also helps control cholesterol by reducing fat deposits in the arteries.

Cheat Cholesterol With Capsicum

Cholesterol is found almost exclusively in foods from animals (meats, eggs, oils), and is constantly made in the body, mostly in the liver and kidneys. While some cholesterol is essential in the formation of hormones and cell membranes, too much is dangerous. Many people process excess cholesterol naturally and never encounter any problems.

However, there are others who accumulate cholesterol in the blood, resulting in high serum cholesterol counts that lead to atherosclerosis, which is plaque deposits of cholesterol, fats, and other remains in the walls of medium-sized and large arteries. This condition causes the affected vessel to narrow as its walls become thick and hardened, which reduces circulation to organs and other parts of the body. These conditions are the major causes of heart attack, heart disease, chest pain, and other circulatory disorders.

Chile in the diet can enhance the means by which cholesterol and fats are processed. Studies have found that capsaicin works in two ways to reduce cholesterol levels: it decreases cholesterol absorption by the body so that more is excreted in the feces; and it increases the enzymes responsible for fat metabolism in the liver, so that more triglycerides, the hard insoluble fat, are secreted by the liver rather than accumulated in the body.

Studies have found that dihydrocapsaicin, a constituent of capsaicin, can lower blood levels of low­density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), which contributes to atherosclerosis, and raise high­density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), which retards atherosclerosis. A study in India found that rats eating a high­fat diet that included chile and adequate protein experienced less weight gain and exhibited lower serum and liver triglyceride levels. Additionally, they found that capsaicin, when added to an established high­fat diet, actually reduced triglyceride levels in the blood.

However, capsaicin does not work alone. Studies have shown that the metabolizing benefits of capsaicin are dependent on sufficient amounts of protein in the diet. One such experiment found that rats fed capsaicin on high­protein diets maintained their growth rates, but that capsaicin added to low­protein diets actually decreased growth rates, possibly due to a reduction in fat absorption. Protein is essential for the processing and transportation of fat and the delivery of nutrients throughout the body. Capsaicin binds to protein after it is activated by metabolites in the liver, and this protein then carries the benefits of capsaicin, which include increased waste disposal and the enhanced absorption of nutrients, throughout the system.

There are other ways that the chile helps prevent heart disease. Capsaicin causes vasodilation, which opens blood vessels so that circulation is enhanced and blood pressure is lowered. Additionally, a Thai study found that chiles, included with a meal or held in the mouth temporarily, decreases blood­clotting mechanisms. However, many herb specialists assert that a cayenne­garlic­ginger combination is much more effective for preventing stroke and heart disease. The garlic softens arterial deposits, cayenne helps wash them away, and ginger enhances the effects of the cayenne.

The following remedies are designed to help reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure.

Pectin-Pepper Anti-Cholesterol Treatment

All of these ingredients are reputed to lower high levels of serum cholesterol in the body, thus reducing the risk of heart disease. The dosage is 2 capsules before each meal.

• 1 tablespoon apple pectin

• 1 teaspoon powdered hawthorn berries

• 1 teaspoon powdered plantain leaves

• 1 teaspoon powdered fenugreek

• 1 teaspoon black cohosh root

• 1 teaspoon cayenne

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Place in #00 capsules.

Garlic-Cayenne Blood Pressure Remedy

This powerful combination of herbs is reputed to relieve high blood pressure and lower serum cholesterol in the blood. Amazingly, it is also said to treat hives, shingles, and insomnia. The dosage is 3 capsules a day.

• 1 tablespoon powdered garlic

• 1 tablespoon powdered valerian root

• 1 teaspoon cayenne

• 1 teaspoon powdered black cohosh root

• 1 teaspoon powdered kelp

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Place in #00 capsules.

Fire-Up Your Metabolism

Researchers at Oxford Polytechnic in England have found that some spicy foods, including chile peppers, boost the body's metabolic rate, which can lead to weight loss. The twelve volunteers in their 1986 study ate identical 766-calorie meals. On one day, three grams each of chile powder and mustard were added to their meals; on the next day, nothing was added. On the days that the extra spices were added to their meals, participants burned from four to seventy-six additional calories, with an average of 45 calories burned.

Before we explain how chiles help to burn calories, let's start with the basics. Metabolism is defined as the sum of all chemical processes that take place in the body as they relate to the movement of nutrients in the blood after digestion, resulting in growth, energy, release of wastes, and other bodily functions. Metabolism takes place in two steps. The first step is the constructive phase (anabolism), where smaller molecules (amino acids) are converted to larger molecules (proteins). The second step is the destructive phase, (catabolism). Larger molecules (as glycogen) are converted to smaller molecules (as glucose). Exercise, body temperature, hormone activity, and digestion can increase the rate of metabolism.

Here's how it works: spices such as chile peppers help us burn additional calories by triggering a thermodynamic burn that can last up to five hours after eating. This process speeds up the metabolism, and melts calories while preventing new fat from forming. To keep your metabolism running at peak performance, Dr. Bryant Stamford, at the University of Louisville at Kentucky, councils that it is best to put peppers into many small meals throughout the day, instead of sitting down to the traditional three meals a day. "Many small meals create the thermic effect," he said, "spurring the body on to burn more calories."

Likewise, we've always wondered if chile peppers assist you in eating less because their burn may inhibit your ability to eat too much. We know from experience that it is more difficult to overindulge in a hot and spicy meal which causes the mouth to be slightly uncomfortable, than it is to overeat something more bland like potato chips. Now there is some evidence that chile peppers contribure to satiety, the feeling of fullness after eating. It is in an article entitled "Sensory and gastrointestinal satiety effects of capsaicin on food intake" that was published at Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

• Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the relative oral and gastrointestinal contribution to capsaicin-induced satiety and its effects on food intake or macronutrient selection.

• Background: Decreased appetite and increased energy expenditure after oral consumption of red pepper has been shown.

• Conclusion: In the short term, both oral and gastrointestinal exposure to capsaicin increased satiety and reduced energy and fat intake; the stronger reduction with oral exposure suggests a sensory effect of capsaicin.

• One expert's translation of the conclusion: "Intake dropped about 10% below baseline when eating half an hour after knocking back 80,000 Scoville Thermal Units' worth of capsaicin, even when the subjects couldn't taste the stuff. When they could, intake dropped about 15% below baseline. This could result in an easy 2 to 3 pound weight loss per month (3 if you can taste it, 2 if you can't)."

We also know that chile peppers are an incredible replacement for the fat in your diet. Say goodbye to the butter on your baked potato and add some salsa instead. Sauté vegetables and chicken in hot sauce as opposed to oil. Add sparks to your salad with spices. Use your imagination and good chile taste and you'll be sure to reduce by increasing the hot stuff in your daily meals.

Do fiery foods really melt the pounds away? Although we can't promise you'll lose weight while eating a chile pepper-laced chocolate cake, we believe peppers are a great way to perk up your metabolism, allowing it to run like a Ferrari instead of a Yugo. As always, it is best to follow a common-sense regimen for weight loss: eat less and exercise. However, it certainly can't hurt to fire-up your metabolism with chiles, for a little extra after burner effect.

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