A new study, published inObesity: Open Access, suggest a branded capsaicinoid - an extract from red hot peppers - may boost one's metabolic rate.

The placebo-controlled crossover, open label study, examined 40 healthy adults (23 male and 17 female) between the ages of 22 – 47 taking a daily dose of 2 mg of capsaicinoids (100 mg Capsimax) or a placebo (microcrystalline), to see the effects capsaicinoids may have on blood pressure, heart rate and resting energy expenditure (REE). REE represents the amount of calories needed during a 24-hour period by the body when in a non-active period. According to the study, increasing this amount of calories, can aid in managing one's weight.

"Because capsaicinoids (the component of hot peppers that gives them heat) are hot, it was imperative that we use an ingredient which the subjects could tolerate," said Vijaya Juturu, Ph.D., F.A.C.N., one of the lead researchers on the MR Study. "Since Capsimax is made using a proprietary beadleting technology, OmniBead, which coats the capsicum extract, releasing it only when it reaches the intestines where it is absorbed without discomfort, we were able to deliver beneficial levels of capsaicinoids to our subjects, which made the MR Study possible."

Before taking a capsule with a meal, participants withheld from food intake for four hours and sustained from performing any type of exercise for 4-12 hours. Once the resting state was confirmed, participants were measured for REE, with a Tanita bioimpedance scale – assessing weight, height, and fat - and wore a Zephyr chest strap tracker to monitor their physiological parameters, which all lasted for 3.5 hours.

At the end of the study, researchers found participants taking the capsaicinoid branded extract had an increased metabolic rate. The REE of the group increased to 116 calories a day, or 8%, by the end of the 3 hours.

In addition, participants' heart rates were monitored with Zephyr, a realtime chest band monitoring tracker. While during the test both groups, on average, had an increase of 10 BPM in the first 30 minutes, but gradually recovered back to their initial heart rates. There was also no significant difference in the heart rates between the two groups or between males and females.

Posted on WholeFoods Magazine Online, 8/7/2017