If you’ve ever experienced a burning sensation after biting into a red chili pepper, then you’ve experienced capsaicin.

Capsaicin is the compound in red chili peppers that makes them spicy.¹

But capsaicin causes another type of burning that has caught the attention of scientists.

Capsaicin helps the body burn calories even while at rest.²

Due to this unique ability, one study showed that capsaicin helped increase weight loss and reduce body mass index without any change to diet or exercise.³

Weight Loss Ally

Capsaicin’s ability to help support weight loss was seen in a clinical study.

For this study, 21 overweight people took either capsaicin (200 mg) or a placebo 30 minutes after breakfast for 28 days.³ All of the subjects maintained their regular food intake and activity levels during the study period.

Compared to the placebo group, those taking capsaicin experienced an average of:

• 2.1% reduction in body weight (vs. 0.32%),
• 4% decrease in waist-to-hip ratio (vs. 1%), and
• 2.2% reduction in body mass index (vs. 0.3%).

Overall, the capsaicin group lost approximately one pound per week.

One of the previous drawbacks of taking large amounts of capsaicin was that it irritated the lining of the digestive tract, leading to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and burning diarrhea.^4,5

This made it impractical to utilize capsaicin for its weight loss effects.

Scientists overcame that obstacle by encapsulating capsaicin in a patented fiber hydrogel that lessens irritation of the stomach lining.⁶

In the above study, the encapsulated capsaicin was found to be safe and well-tolerated.

Burning Fat at Rest

What’s noteworthy about this study is that the subjects taking capsaicin reduced their body weight and BMI without making any changes to their diet or increasing their exercise.³

One underlying reason for this phenomenon is because of capsaicin’s thermogenic properties.

Thermogenesis is part of the body’s ability to burn nutrient calories for energy, which helps support healthy metabolism and control body weight.⁴ Nutrients that support thermogenesis can help enhance a weight management regimen.

Capsaicin is a potent plant-based thermogenic compound.^2,3 By increasing resting energy expenditure, capsaicin can help burn more calories, even when at rest.⁷

A review of 20 trials involving 563 participants demonstrated that capsaicin increases resting energy expenditure, which causes the body to burn more fat calories at rest.⁸

It also led to reductions in abdominal fat tissue, appetite, and energy intake.

This property of capsaicin helps combat a key reason why many calorie-lowering diets fail: a phenomenon called adaptive thermogenesis.^7,9,10 This occurs when your body reduces the amount of energy it burns in response to reduced calorie intake.^9-11

By increasing thermogenesis, capsaicin helps support healthy weight loss.

Beneficial Brown Fat

One reason for these benefits is because capsaicin activates brown fat.^2,8,12-14

Typical fat cells are white and store excess energy.

Brown fat is different because instead of storing calories, it burns them.^14,15 Preclinical studies have shown that brown fat is associated with thermogenesis,^2,13 lower body mass index,² and improved fasting glucose levels.^2,12,15

By activating brown fat, capsaicin could also help reduce the harmful effects of obesity.

In a study of 52,487 people, individuals with brown fat had lower odds of type II diabetes, dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and hypertension compared to those without brown fat.¹⁵

Summary

Capsaicin is the compound in chili peppers that, when consumed, causes a burning sensation, but can increase how many calories the body burns while at rest.

Supplementing with capsaicin has been shown to reduce body weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-hip ratio.

In the past, it was difficult to take advantage of these benefits because regular capsaicin irritates the stomach lining, leading to stomach issues.

A patented process has reduced these concerns by encapsulating capsaicin in a fiber hydrogel that minimizes stomach irritation.

These effects make capsaicin a valuable addition to any weight loss program.

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension Wellness Specialist at 1-866-864-3027.

References

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