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What is Capsicum?

2nd November 2017

Health Nutrition

2nd November 2017

By Shivraj Bassi

Capsicum is a herb - more commonly known as chilli peppers. You know that heat you feel when you eat a chilli pepper? Well, this occurs as a result of a chemical interaction with sensory neurones, which is also a reason for capsicum's health-promoting bioactive properties. As a result, Capsicum can boost metabolism by making the body produce extra heat - almost like a sort of calorie burning furnace to fuel the body.

Found in The Lean Protein (as well as red chillies), capsicum can help boost your metabolism and burn fat giving your health and weight loss goals a fiery kick. 

Background

A herbal supplement, Capsicum has been used as a medicine and seasoning for over 9,000 years. Today, the fruits of the Capsicum family are a kitchen staple used for curries and sauces and found in many of our favourite dishes. Besides firing up our palates, research suggests that capsicum can also suppress appetite and speed up metabolism so is great for aiding fat loss.

Don't worry - you don't have to withstand unbearable heat from spicy chilli peppers if that isn't your thing. The benefits of Capsicum can be found in peppers with no spice at all: such as the Bell Pepper, meaning that you can implement this superfood into common, everyday meals, as well as in powder supplements for complete ease of use. 

The Health Benefits of Capsicum

Capsicum health benefits have been proven through research, demonstrating that eating capsicum can increase metabolism by up to 20% for 2 hours. It can also increase fat oxidation, and reduce appetite so that the body is more efficient at using fat for fuel and you’ll crave less food to feel full.

Research has shown that capsicum may have even more beneficial effects including fighting inflammation, stimulating muscle protein synthesis and aiding muscular growth and repair.

Some other common medicinal or healing Capsicum benefits include in the aid of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), metabolism boosting benefits and even decrease the risk of cancers.

Summary

There are huge Capsicum benefits that definitely shouldn't be ignored when it comes to clean, natural ingredients. Capsicum are is responsible for spicing up all sorts of food and drink, so consider adding this hot tamale to your diet for its powerful kick and potent metabolic punch. Capsicum can be found in The Tone Capsules, one of our dietary booster capsules - making it even easier to integrate this superfood into your diet. 

With a range of ways to integrate this natural ingredient to your diet, here at Innermost we think it's a no-brainer to get this one on your list. 

References

  • Arnold, W., & van de Kerkhof, P. (1994). Topical capsaicin in pruritic psoriasis. Journal Of The American Academy Of Dermatology, 31(1), 135. doi: 10.1016/s0190-9622(09)80256-9
  • SFGate (2021). List of Natural Appetite-Suppressing Foods. Retrieved from https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-natural-appetitesuppressing-foods-6098.html
  • Versus Arthritis (2021). Capsicum. Retrieved from https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/types-of-complementary-treatments/capsaicin/
  • Whiting, S., Derbyshire, E., & Tiwari, B. (2012). Capsaicinoids and capsinoids. A potential role for weight management? A systematic review of the evidence. Appetite, 59(2), 341-348. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.05.015
  • Yang, Y., Zhang, J., Weiss, N. S., Guo, L., Zhang, L., Jiang, Y., & Yang, Y. (2019). The consumption of chili peppers and the risk of colorectal cancer: a matched case-control study. World journal of surgical oncology, 17(1), 1-7.
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