The health benefits of using cayenne pepper for weight loss are quite powerful.
Cayenne pepper is a shrub that originated in Central and South American. For almost 9,000 years Native Americans used this super spice for seasoning.
It’s thought plants evolved to contain capsaicin (the ingredient that gives it its kick) as a way to protect themselves from being eaten from bugs and other predators.
Nowadays, cayenne pepper has become a kitchen staple amongst “pepperheads” for it’s zing and pungency.
Cayenne pepper not only helps out with improving the flavor of foods, but more and more studies have found it to help you lose weight as well.
There are thousands of studies published proving how well cayenne pepper can be for your health and weight loss.
More studies such as this one published in the European Journal of Pharmacology are finding cayenne pepper to have anti-cancer, cardio protective and anti-obesity properties.
The powerful spice that is cayenne pepper will not only make your foods taste better, but you can also expect a plethora of vital health benefits as well.
Does Cayenne Pepper Work For Weight Loss?
Capsaicin is the secret ingredient inside cayenne pepper that gives it all it’s weight loss benefits.
Capsaicin is also what gives cayenne pepper it’s strong spice and zing.
This study found the capsaicin in cayenne pepper to increase your metabolic rate by 15-20% for 2 hours after eating.
The capsaicin causes your body to produce extra heat and burn more calories for fuel.
Another awesome benefit of cayenne pepper over other super spices is its more bioavailable, meaning your body will naturally absorb more of it.
Some foods and spices are not so easily absorbed by your body thereby reducing the benefits you can get from them.
Cayenne pepper naturally is much better absorbed through your gut so you can get all its weight loss benefits.
The bioavailability of cayenne pepper is an outstanding 50-90% that’s rapidly cleared from your system in 48 hours.
If you’re using turmeric for weight loss too trying adding in some cracked black pepper to drastically boost absorption.
Cayenne Pepper Drops Belly Fat
One of the big benefits of using cayenne pepper for weight loss is it helping you lose belly fat.
This Tokyo study found red peppers when added to your diet resulted in an extra 10% reduction in deep visceral belly fat.
This is the dangerous kind of belly fat too that surrounds your internal organs and can cause some serious health problems.
Not to mention it will cause your belly to undesirably bulge out.
As a superfood cayenne pepper has some incredible anti-inflammatory effects on your body.
Keeping your inflammation to a minimum is important to not only fight off chronic diseases but to also prevent premature aging in your body.
Nobody likes to age quicker than they need to.
Using Cayenne Pepper for Diabetes
Diabetes is a serious problem in the United States with it affecting well over 23 million people.
It’s one of the biggest causes of lifestyle related deaths.
When you eat something your blood sugar naturally rises and as a response your body releases insulin to bring these levels back down by absorbing glucose into the blood stream.
Diabetes starts to rear it’s ugly head when you eat too many sugary and high glycemic foods.
Your body needs to release more and more insulin just to bring these elevated blood sugar levels back down to normal.
Eventually the insulin being released from your body just doesn’t work nearly as well anymore for bringing down your blood sugar.
This is how type 2 diabetes develops and also weight gain.
Cayenne pepper has been used a traditional treatment for diabetes for quite a few years.
You can also use the spice cumin for weight loss and diabetes treatment.
It’s been found to help curb the amount of insulin needed to lower blood sugar after meals.
Cayenne pepper even stabilizes your blood sugar levels and possibly even decreases insulin response after eating.
The European Journal of Pharmacology in 2013 found blood glucose levels were higher between 30 and 150 minutes after eating cayenne pepper.
The capsaicin in the cayenne pepper stimulated glucose absorption from the small intestines.
Another study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found blood glucose levels lower 20 mint to 120 min after eating meals with cayenne pepper.
One more study published in Obesity found the capsaicin in cayenne pepper to improve glucose tolerance in obese mice by lowering triglyceride levels over a 10 week period.
This is good news for you because it basically means cayenne pepper helps to eliminate the fat in your body.
So you’ll not only fight off the belly fat gaining effects of blood sugar spikes but you’ll also burn off the fat in your body just by using cayenne pepper.
Cayenne Pepper Helps You Crush Your Workouts
Another fantastic benefit from using cayenne pepper for weight loss is it’ll help improve your workouts.
And the better your workouts the more weight you’re going to lose.
The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found the use of capsaicin increased the total weight lifted by 23% in athletes.
The test subjects also found they had a significant reduction in their Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE).
The RPE is just a way to scale how intense a workout is for you.
So if you’re just walking on a treadmill then your RPE would maybe be a 3 or 4, but if I made you sprint up a hill a dozen times then it would most likely be a 9 or 10.
This is good news if you’re trying to lose weight because it means you can push yourself harder in your workouts and not even feel as tired.
You’ll end up burning more calories and more fat off your belly.
As the capsaicin in cayenne pepper helps you lose stomach fat it’s thought to be caused by an increase heat production in your mitochondria.
I like to call your mitochondria the “Mighty Mitochrondria” because they’re basically the powerhouse of your cells.
Cayenne Pepper Cuts Your Appetite
Everybody knows one of the hardest parts of dieting is fighting off those “hunger pains” that come with cutting calories.
It’s virtually impossible to do long term which is why I don’t really recommend straight up calorie restriction as the best way to lose weight.
The principles and strategies I’ve outlined in my Flat Belly Formula system show you step-by-step how to drop stomach fat fast and for good.
At the same time you can’t expect to lose weight if you’re eating way too many calories per day for your body.
So while some regulation of calorie intake is going to be necessary it doesn’t mean it has to be totally painful.
Using cayenne pepper can actually help to increase the sensation of fullness and decreases your desire to eat after a meal.
Therefore, you can expect to lose weight just by using cayenne pepper as you will not be as hungry as you normally would.
Even Purdue University found cayenne pepper helped to manage appetite and burn more calories after a meal.
An important note in their study was they found along with a lowering of appetite there were no cravings for fatty, salty and sweet foods.
Fatty, salty and sweet foods are really the worse for you when it comes to weight loss and getting rid of belly fat.
The more ways you can find to eliminate your cravings for these belly fat gaining foods the better.
The researchers found using cayenne pepper was best when used on foods as the taste would maximize the digestion process.
When your body is absorbing more of the nutrients in the foods you’re eating the less likely you are to want to keep eating anymore of these bad foods.
Cayenne Pepper Improves Your Heart Health
Even though cayenne pepper might set your mouth on fire it’ll also lead to improving your the health of your heart.
A study in Cell Metabolism found the capsaicin in cayenne pepper caused the blood vessels in your heart to relax.
Cayenne pepper is fantastic for your heart because it stimulates circulation throughout your entire body.
This helps your capillaries, veins and arteries to regain their elasticity of youth.
One of the big health problems with high blood pressure is it the serious damaged caused by it effectively “stretches out” your capillaries, veins and arteries.
This meta analysis found it be beneficial to be eating capsaicin for your heart health.
It’s not only important to be eating cayenne pepper if you have high blood pressure, but everybody should be using it to prevent any damage from happening down the line.
So cayenne pepper will not only help you to lose weight and belly fat it’ll also improve your heart health so you can live longer and fuller.
Now that sounds like a good deal.
Cayenne Pepper For Weight Loss Drink
An important thing to note about eating cayenne pepper is to make sure you start off with your personal preference level.
I’ve seen too many people start off too strong with cayenne pepper and end up suffering the consequences.
It’s best to begin taking cayenne pepper slowly and then progress your intake levels of it.
Having your mouth set on fire isn’t a good way to increase the likelihood you’re going to use cayenne pepper on a daily basis.
With that said I like to recommend taking around 3 teaspoons of cayenne pepper daily in 3 different servings throughout the day.
If you’re just getting started using cayenne pepper then I’d go with just 1 teaspoon.
I like to either mix it with MetaboGreens in the morning or drink it with my special detox drink. You can also combine this with some of my other favorite weight loss teas.
Detox Drink Recipe:
- warm water
- juice from lemon half
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
This Detox Drink can be pretty strong so make sure you have some water standing by to help chase it down.
You’ll get use to the flavor after a while to the point you actually enjoy drinking it.
You’ll notice an instant increase in energy levels too along with a boost to your metabolism.
For more ways on how to detox your body naturally go here.
Conclusion
You can see there’s definitive proof backed by science finding using cayenne pepper for weight loss is more than effective.
The problem is many people just don’t care for spicy foods so they avoid this powerful superfood altogether.
But if you’re willing to at least slowly introduce it into your body you will not only lose weight, but you will also fight off cancer, diabetes and drop belly fat.
If you’re taking any medication just make sure you talk to your doctor first before introducing cayenne pepper into your diet as it could affect your absorption.
Other than that nearly all studies show no adverse effects from getting the benefits of the capsaicin in cayenne pepper.
This meta-analysis published by Bioscience Reports found cayenne pepper to be a powerful weapon against obesity and weight gain.
You can fully expect to lose weight when using cayenne pepper as long as you can take the heat.
Josh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition Science. He’s a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and he’s a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) by American Council on Exercise. He’s worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the high school and college levels. He has over 15 years of experience as a personal trainer and nutrition coach. He strives to bring inspiration and results for people to live healthier lives through smart diet and exercise.