[quote]HandOfGod wrote:
I have recently been told by a colleague of mine that Cayenne aka Capsicum can be an extremely powerful herb used for various reasons such as : Fat-Loss, Improve Circulation, blood pressure regulator, reduce in inflammation, and treat muscle soreness after workouts. Do any of these claims have any validity? Should I make it a must-have in my daily regimen?
Various google searches have given me hokey-pokey homeopathic sites all selling various “natural” products, but nothing concrete. Any help would be appreciated. [/quote]
Actually, there’s some great animal data that shows an increase in BAT thermogenesis; apparently acting via sympathetic upregulation.
In humans, there’s less data, though enough to show that when the proper capsaicin active is used, there’s an increase in thermogenesis.
I haven’t done a thorough review of capsaicin in a while, but I recal an interesting study that came out in, I think, 2000, that showed when women consumed 3mg active capsaicin w/ meals, thermogenesis increased. The interesting part was that capscacin appeared to work better in lean, as opposed to obese subjects when consumed prior to meals.
If you’re interested in doing a more recent review of literature, I’d recommend you stop doing general web searches, and just go directly to PubMed. It’s far more technical, but also far more accurate - it’s an NIH site that contains links to practically every published research worth reading.
BTW, I think the dosing in animal studies, as well as human studies, have run up to 3mg, per kg bodyweight; if I recall, the effect was dose-dependent in rodent models, but I don’t recall any such specificity in human studies.
The sidenote, as has been mentioned previously, is that capsaicin “burns”. Yes, you’ll get a warming sensation - that’s the thermogenic effect - but if you take a dose too aggressive, don’t expect anything different than had you downed too many jalopeno peppers.
As a personal suggestion, I like using capsaicin and things along that line. The thermogenic effect is quite noticeable - which, from a marketing standpoint is good - and there are some nice side benefits of such: antioxidant capacity & GI motility, as well as aiding in those who suffer from motion sickness.
Hope this has helped. - chris