Human Biology 1010 (Spring 2012)

Hot Sauce can Reduce Beer Belly Fat in Surgery

At Brigham and Women's Hospital a new research is released. Ali Tavakkoli, MD, BWH Department of Surgery and his colleagues have discovered that Capsaicin, an ingredient in hot sauces that give it that heat and spice, can pave a revolutionary future to weight loss. The two key surgeries for this study are vagal de-afferentation and vagatomy. They both use the Capsaicin, and resulted in weight loss and reduce the risk of obesity-related diseases.In both surgeries, they have to remove the the vagnus nerve which involves signals to the brain and gut. Instead, they use Capsaicin to destroy only certain nerve fibers. Researchers noticed a substantial difference in the "beer belly" fat in Vagatomy, and Vagal de-afferentation but to a lesser extent. This is important since, having too much fat between the abdominal organs can point to obesity or obesity-related diseases.  
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/blogs/150855845.html