knape for Getty Images
knape for Getty Images

Spicy foods already have a reputation for burning through your metabolism to help you lose weight. Now there’s even better news for those who like their food super-spicy, with recent studies indicating a possible link between spicy foods and lower death rates. There’s also evidence that these foods may clear out sinuses, relieve symptoms from ulcers and nourish the heart.

 

Typically, people who love hot food cite peppers as their number-one choice. If you’re a pepper eater, which are the hottest? The well-known Scoville Scale ranks pepper hotness in “scoville” units. Highlights from the rankings include:

Bell pepper—0

Pimento and pepperoncini—100-500

Tabasco sauce from green pepper—600-800

Poblano pepper----1,000-1,500

Tabasco sauce from Tabasco pepper—2,500-5,000

Jalapeno pepper—2,500-8,000

Tabasco sauce Habanero—7,000-8,000

Cayenne pepper—30,000-50,000

Habanero chile—100,000-350,000

Naga jolokia—855,000-1.04 million

Pepper spray—2 million-5.3 million

 

 

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.