Have Tabasco sauce, will travel! Whatever your passion, from mild to hot, chili peppers spice up cuisine found worldwide from Mexico to Thailand. Beyond the heat, chili peppers also provide health benefits. Check out what chili peppers can do for you.

Add a Nutritional Punch: Peppers come in shades of green, red, orange and yellow (even purple), which means a wealth of antioxidants such as beta carotene, lutein and vitamin C. Just ¼ cup of diced yellow or red mild chili peppers supplies almost 100% of the Daily Value for vitamin C and about 10% of vitamin A and potassium needs. These antioxidants may aid muscle recovery from tough workouts as well as stave off chronic ailments such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.

Boost Calorie Burning: Beyond peppers’ rich colors comes their electrifying “heat” thanks to capsaicin, a compound found in the chili pepper family that stimulates nerve fibers/neurons in the mouth as well as the gut. This action also promotes a calorie “burn,” boosting heat production in the body by potentially 10-50 calories or more daily.

Aid Weight Loss: Kicked up calorie burning, even a small amount, may lead to weight loss. In one study from the University of Maryland Medical School, overweight men and women took capsinoid tablets daily for 12 weeks and lost significantly more belly fat than the placebo group.

Control Appetite: Eating hot stuff may also dull your appetite soon after a meal, according to research from the University of Copenhagen. Pair chili peppers with green tea and there appears to be an even greater appetite suppressing effect. Iced green tea and jalapeño poppers anyone?