Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation

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Capsaicin’s Hot Benefits

Capsaicin, the compound in hot peppers that makes them spicy, is a chemical irritant and a neurotoxin. However, humans being humans, we decided to eat them for fun.

In contrast to many other ways in which humans recreationally enjoy things that are objectively poisonous, consuming capsaicin (in moderation) is considered to have health benefits, such as aiding weight loss (by boosting metabolism) and reducing inflammation.

Let’s see what the science says…

First: is it safe?

Capsaicin is classified as “Generally Recognized As Safe”. That said, the same mechanism that causes them to boost metabolism, does increase blood pressure:

Mechanisms underlying the hypertensive response induced by capsaicin

If you are in good cardiovascular health, this increase should be slight and not pose any threat, unless for example you enter a chili-eating contest when not acclimated to such:

Capsaicin and arterial hypertensive crisis

As ever, if unsure, do check with your doctor first, especially if you are taking any blood pressure medications, or otherwise have known blood pressure issues.

Does it really boost metabolism?

It certainly does; it works by increasing oxygen consumption and raising body temperature, both of which mean more calories will be burned for the same amount of work:

Dietary capsaicin and its anti-obesity potency: from mechanism to clinical implications

This means, of course, that chili peppers enjoy the status of being functionally a “negative calorie” food, and a top-tier one at that:

Chili pepper as a body weight-loss food

Here’s a good quality study that showed a statistically significant* fat loss improvement over placebo:

Capsaicinoids supplementation decreases percent body fat and fat mass: adjustment using covariates in a post hoc analysis

*To put it in numbers, the benefit was:

  • 5.91 percentage points lower body fat percentage than placebo
  • 6.68 percentage points greater change in body fat mass than placebo

See also: Difference between percentages and percentage points

For those who prefer big reviews than single studies, we’ve got you covered:

The Effects of Capsaicin and Capsiate on Energy Balance: Critical Review and Meta-analyses of Studies in Humans

Does it really reduce inflammation?

Counterintuitive as it may seem, yes. By means of reducing oxidative stress. Given that things that reduce oxidative stress tend to reduce inflammation, and in turn tend to reduce assorted disease risks (from diabetes to cancer to Alzheimer’s), this probably has more knock-on benefits too, but we don’t have room to explore all of those today.

Fresh peppers are best for this, but dried peppers (such as when purchased as a ground spice in the supermarket, or when purchased as a capsule-based supplement) still have a very respectable anti-inflammatory effect:

How much should we take?

It’s recommended to start at a low dose and gradually increase it, but 2–6mg of capsaicin per day is the standard range used in studies.

If you’re getting this from peppers, then for example cayenne pepper (a good source of capsaicin) contains around 2.5mg of capsaicin per 1 gram of cayenne.

In the case of capsules, if for example you don’t like eating hot pepper, this will usually mean taking 2–6 capsules per day, depending on dosage.

Make sure to take it with plenty of water!

Where can we get it?

Fresh peppers or ground spice from your local grocery store is fine. Your local health food store probably sells the supplements, too.

If you’d like to buy it online, here is an example product on Amazon.

Note: options on Amazon were more limited than usual, so this product is not vegan, and probably not halal or kosher, as the capsule contains an unspecified gelatin.

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  • Beet “Kvass” With Ginger

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    Kvass is a popular drink throughout Eastern Europe, with several countries claiming it, but the truth is, kvass is older than nations (as in: nations, in general, any of them; nation states are a newer concept than is often realized), and its first recorded appearance was in the city state of Kyiv.

    This one is definitely not a traditional recipe, as kvass is usually made from rye, but keeping true to its Eastern European roots with (regionally popular) beetroot, it’s nevertheless a great fermented drink, full of probiotic benefits, and this time, with antioxidants too.

    It’s a little saltier than most things we give recipes for here, so enjoy it on hot sunny days as a great way to replenish electrolytes!

    You will need (for 1 quart / 1 liter)

    • 2¾ cups filtered or spring water
    • 2 beets, roughly chopped
    • 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
    • 2 tsp salt (do not omit or substitute)

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Sterilize a 1-quart jar with boiling water (carefully please)

    2) Put all the ingredients in the jar and stir until the salt dissolves

    3) Close the lid tightly and store in a cool dark place to ferment for 2 weeks

    4) Strain the beets and ginger (they are now pickled and can be enjoyed in a salad or as a kimchi-like snack), pouring the liquid into a clean jar/bottle. This can be kept in the fridge for up to a month. Next time you make it, if you use ¼ cup of this as a “starter” to replace an equal volume of water in the original recipe, the fermentation will take days instead of weeks.

    5) Serve! Best served chilled, but without ice, on a hot sunny day.

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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  • What Grief Does To Your Body (And How To Manage It)

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    What Grief Does To The Body (And How To Manage It)

    In life, we will almost all lose loved ones and suffer bereavement. For most people, this starts with grandparents, eventually moves to parents, and then people our own generation; partners, siblings, close friends. And of course, sometimes and perhaps most devastatingly, we can lose people younger than ourselves.

    For something that almost everyone suffers, there is often very little in the way of preparation given beforehand, and afterwards, a condolences card is nice but can’t do a lot for our mental health.

    And with mental health, our physical health can go too, if we very understandably neglect it at such a time.

    So, how to survive devastating loss, and come out the other side, hopefully thriving? It seems like a tall order indeed.

    First, the foundations:

    You’re probably familiar with the stages of grief. In their most commonly-presented form, they are:

    1. Denial
    2. Anger
    3. Bargaining
    4. Depression
    5. Acceptance

    You’ve probably also heard/read that we won’t always go through them in order, and also that grief is deeply personal and proceeds on its own timescale.

    It is generally considered healthy to go through them.

    What do they look like?

    Naturally this can vary a lot from person to person, but examples in the case of bereavement could be:

    1. Denial: “This surely has not really happened; I’ll carry on as though it hasn’t”
    2. Anger: “Why didn’t I do xyz differently while I had the chance?!”
    3. Bargaining: “I will do such-and-such in their honor, and this will be a way of expressing the love I wish I could give them in a way they could receive”
    4. Depression: “What is the point of me without them? The sooner I join them, the better.”
    5. Acceptance: “I was so lucky that we had the time together that we did, and enriched each other’s lives while we could”

    We can speedrun these or we can get stuck on one for years. We can bounce back and forth. We can think we’re at acceptance, and then a previous stage will hit us like a tonne of bricks.

    What if we don’t?

    Assuming that our lost loved one was indeed a loved one (as opposed to someone we are merely societally expected to mourn), then failing to process that grief will tend to have a big impact on our life—and health. These health problems can include:

    As you can see, three out of five of those can result in death. The other two aren’t great either. So why isn’t this taken more seriously as a matter of health?

    Death is, ironically, considered something we “just have to live with”.

    But how?

    Coping strategies

    You’ll note that most of the stages of grief are not enjoyable per se. For this reason, it’s common to try to avoid them—hence denial usually being first.

    But, that is like not getting a lump checked out because you don’t want a cancer diagnosis. The emotional reasoning is understandable, but it’s ultimately self-destructive.

    First, have a plan. If a death is foreseen, you can even work out this plan together.

    But even if that time has now passed, it’s “better late than never” to make a plan for looking after yourself, e.g:

    • How you will try to get enough sleep (tricky, but sincerely try)
    • How you will remember to eat (and ideally, healthily)
    • How you will still get exercise (a walk in the park is fine; see some greenery and get some sunlight)
    • How you will avoid self-destructive urges (from indirect, e.g. drinking, to direct, e.g. suicidality)
    • How you will keep up with the other things important in your life (work, friends, family)
    • How you will actively work to process your grief (e.g. journaling, or perhaps grief counselling)

    Some previous articles of ours that may help:

    If it works, it works

    If we are all unique, then any relationship between any two people is uniqueness squared. Little wonder, then, that our grief may be unique too. And it can be complicated further:

    • Sometimes we had a complicated relationship with someone
    • Sometimes the circumstances of their death were complicated

    There is, for that matter, such a thing as “complicated grief”:

    Read more: Complicated grief and prolonged grief disorder (Medical News Today)

    We also previously reviewed a book on “ambiguous loss”, exploring grieving when we cannot grieve in the normal way because someone is gone and/but/maybe not gone.

    For example, if someone is in a long-term coma from which they may never recover, or if they are missing-presumed-dead. Those kinds of situations are complicated too.

    Unusual circumstances may call for unusual coping strategies, so how can we discern what is healthy and what isn’t?

    The litmus test is: is it enabling you to continue going about your life in a way that allows you to fulfil your internal personal aspirations and external social responsibilities? If so, it’s probably healthy.

    Look after yourself. And if you can, tell your loved ones you love them today.

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  • Antihistamines for Runny Nose?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

    In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

    As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

    So, no question/request too big or small 😎

    ❝Do you have any articles about using Anti-Histamines? My nose seems to be running a lot. I don’t have a cold or any allergies that I know of. I tried a Nasal spray Astepro, but it doesn’t do much.?❞

    Just for you, we wrote such an article yesterday in response to this question!

    The Astepro that you tried, by the way, is a brand name of the azelastine we mentioned near the end, before we got to talking about systemic corticosteroids such as beclometasone dipropionate—this latter might help you if antihistamines haven’t, and if your doctor advises there’s no contraindication (for most people it is safe for there are exceptions, such as if you are immunocompromised and/or currently fighting some infection).

    You can find more details on all this in yesterday’s article, which in case you missed it, can be found at:

    Antihistamines’ Generation Gap: Are You Ready For Allergy Season?

    Enjoy!

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  • Kate Middleton is having ‘preventive chemotherapy’ for cancer. What does this mean?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Catherine, Princess of Wales, is undergoing treatment for cancer. In a video thanking followers for their messages of support after her major abdominal surgery, the Princess of Wales explained, “tests after the operation found cancer had been present.”

    “My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment,” she said in the two-minute video.

    No further details have been released about the Princess of Wales’ treatment.

    But many have been asking what preventive chemotherapy is and how effective it can be. Here’s what we know about this type of treatment.

    It’s not the same as preventing cancer

    To prevent cancer developing, lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise and sun protection are recommended.

    Tamoxifen, a hormone therapy drug can be used to reduce the risk of cancer for some patients at high risk of breast cancer.

    Aspirin can also be used for those at high risk of bowel and other cancers.

    How can chemotherapy be used as preventive therapy?

    In terms of treating cancer, prevention refers to giving chemotherapy after the cancer has been removed, to prevent the cancer from returning.

    If a cancer is localised (limited to a certain part of the body) with no evidence on scans of it spreading to distant sites, local treatments such as surgery or radiotherapy can remove all of the cancer.

    If, however, cancer is first detected after it has spread to distant parts of the body at diagnosis, clinicians use treatments such as chemotherapy (anti-cancer drugs), hormones or immunotherapy, which circulate around the body .

    The other use for chemotherapy is to add it before or after surgery or radiotherapy, to prevent the primary cancer coming back. The surgery may have cured the cancer. However, in some cases, undetectable microscopic cells may have spread into the bloodstream to distant sites. This will result in the cancer returning, months or years later.

    With some cancers, treatment with chemotherapy, given before or after the local surgery or radiotherapy, can kill those cells and prevent the cancer coming back.

    If we can’t see these cells, how do we know that giving additional chemotherapy to prevent recurrence is effective? We’ve learnt this from clinical trials. Researchers have compared patients who had surgery only with those whose surgery was followed by additional (or often called adjuvant) chemotherapy. The additional therapy resulted in patients not relapsing and surviving longer.

    How effective is preventive therapy?

    The effectiveness of preventive therapy depends on the type of cancer and the type of chemotherapy.

    Let’s consider the common example of bowel cancer, which is at high risk of returning after surgery because of its size or spread to local lymph glands. The first chemotherapy tested improved survival by 15%. With more intense chemotherapy, the chance of surviving six years is approaching 80%.

    Preventive chemotherapy is usually given for three to six months.

    How does chemotherapy work?

    Many of the chemotherapy drugs stop cancer cells dividing by disrupting the DNA (genetic material) in the centre of the cells. To improve efficacy, drugs which work at different sites in the cell are given in combinations.

    Chemotherapy is not selective for cancer cells. It kills any dividing cells.

    But cancers consist of a higher proportion of dividing cells than the normal body cells. A greater proportion of the cancer is killed with each course of chemotherapy.

    Normal cells can recover between courses, which are usually given three to four weeks apart.

    What are the side effects?

    The side effects of chemotherapy are usually reversible and are seen in parts of the body where there is normally a high turnover of cells.

    The production of blood cells, for example, is temporarily disrupted. When your white blood cell count is low, there is an increased risk of infection.

    Cell death in the lining of the gut leads to mouth ulcers, nausea and vomiting and bowel disturbance.

    Certain drugs sometimes given during chemotherapy can attack other organs, such as causing numbness in the hands and feet.

    There are also generalised symptoms such as fatigue.

    Given that preventive chemotherapy given after surgery starts when there is no evidence of any cancer remaining after local surgery, patients can usually resume normal activities within weeks of completing the courses of chemotherapy.The Conversation

    Ian Olver, Adjunct Professsor, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Break the Cycle – by Dr. Mariel Buqué

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Intergenerational trauma comes in two main varieties: epigenetic, and behavioral.

    This book covers both. There’s a lot more we can do about the behavioral side than the epigenetic, but that’s not to say that Dr. Buqué doesn’t have useful input in the latter kind too.

    If you’ve read other books on epigenetic trauma, then there’s nothing new here—though the refresher is always welcome.

    On the behavioral side, Dr. Buqué gives a strong focus on practical techniques, such as specific methods of journaling to isolate trauma-generated beliefs and resultant behaviors, with a view to creating one’s own trauma-informed care, cutting through the cycle, and stopping it there.

    Which, of course, will not only be better for you, but also for anyone who will be affected by how you are (e.g. now/soon, hopefully better).

    As a bonus, if you see the mistakes your parents made and are pretty sure you didn’t pass them on, this book can help you troubleshoot for things you missed, and also to improve your relationship with your own childhood.

    Bottom line: if you lament how things were, and do wish/hope to do better in terms of mental health for yourself now and generations down the line, this book is a great starting point.

    Click here to check out Break the Cycle, and do just that!

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  • Cost of living: if you can’t afford as much fresh produce, are canned veggies or frozen fruit just as good?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    The cost of living crisis is affecting how we spend our money. For many people, this means tightening the budget on the weekly supermarket shop.

    One victim may be fresh fruit and vegetables. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggests Australians were consuming fewer fruit and vegetables in 2022–23 than the year before.

    The cost of living is likely compounding a problem that exists already – on the whole, Australians don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables. Australian dietary guidelines recommend people aged nine and older should consume two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables each day for optimal health. But in 2022 the ABS reported only 4% of Australians met the recommendations for both fruit and vegetable consumption.

    Fruit and vegetables are crucial for a healthy, balanced diet, providing a range of vitamins and minerals as well as fibre.

    If you can’t afford as much fresh produce at the moment, there are other ways to ensure you still get the benefits of these food groups. You might even be able to increase your intake of fruit and vegetables.

    New Africa/Shutterstock

    Frozen

    Fresh produce is often touted as being the most nutritious (think of the old adage “fresh is best”). But this is not necessarily true.

    Nutrients can decline in transit from the paddock to your kitchen, and while the produce is stored in your fridge. Frozen vegetables may actually be higher in some nutrients such as vitamin C and E as they are snap frozen very close to the time of harvest. Variations in transport and storage can affect this slightly.

    Minerals such as calcium, iron and magnesium stay at similar levels in frozen produce compared to fresh.

    Another advantage to frozen vegetables and fruit is the potential to reduce food waste, as you can use only what you need at the time.

    A close up of frozen vegetables (peas, carrot and corn).
    Freezing preserves the nutritional quality of vegetables and increases their shelf life. Tohid Hashemkhani/Pexels

    As well as buying frozen fruit and vegetables from the supermarket, you can freeze produce yourself at home if you have an oversupply from the garden, or when produce may be cheaper.

    A quick blanching prior to freezing can improve the safety and quality of the produce. This is when food is briefly submerged in boiling water or steamed for a short time.

    Frozen vegetables won’t be suitable for salads but can be eaten roasted or steamed and used for soups, stews, casseroles, curries, pies and quiches. Frozen fruits can be added to breakfast dishes (with cereal or youghurt) or used in cooking for fruit pies and cakes, for example.

    Canned

    Canned vegetables and fruit similarly often offer a cheaper alternative to fresh produce. They’re also very convenient to have on hand. The canning process is the preservation technique, so there’s no need to add any additional preservatives, including salt.

    Due to the cooking process, levels of heat-sensitive nutrients such as vitamin C will decline a little compared to fresh produce. When you’re using canned vegetables in a hot dish, you can add them later in the cooking process to reduce the amount of nutrient loss.

    To minimise waste, you can freeze the portion you don’t need.

    Fermented

    A jar of red peppers in oil.
    Fermented vegetables are another good option. Angela Khebou/Unsplash

    Fermentation has recently come into fashion, but it’s actually one of the oldest food processing and preservation techniques.

    Fermentation largely retains the vitamins and minerals in fresh vegetables. But fermentation may also enhance the food’s nutritional profile by creating new nutrients and allowing existing ones to be absorbed more easily.

    Further, fermented foods contain probiotics, which are beneficial for our gut microbiome.

    5 other tips to get your fresh fix

    Although alternatives to fresh such as canned or frozen fruit and vegetables are good substitutes, if you’re looking to get more fresh produce into your diet on a tight budget, here are some things you can do.

    1. Buy in season

    Based on supply and demand principles, buying local seasonal vegetables and fruit will always be cheaper than those that are imported out of season from other countries.

    2. Don’t shun the ugly fruit and vegetables

    Most supermarkets now sell “ugly” fruit and vegetables, that are not physically perfect in some way. This does not affect the levels of nutrients in them at all, or their taste.

    A mother and daughter preparing food in the kitchen.
    Buying fruit and vegetables during the right season will be cheaper. August de Richelieu/Pexels

    3. Reduce waste

    On average, an Australian household throws out A$2,000–$2,500 worth of food every year. Fruit, vegetables and bagged salad are the three of the top five foods thrown out in our homes. So properly managing fresh produce could help you save money (and benefit the environment).

    To minimise waste, plan your meals and shopping ahead of time. And if you don’t think you’re going to get to eat the fruit and vegetables you have before they go off, freeze them.

    4. Swap and share

    There are many websites and apps which offer the opportunity to swap or even pick up free fresh produce if people have more than they need. Some local councils are also encouraging swaps on their websites, so dig around and see what you can find in your local area.

    5. Gardening

    Regardless of how small your garden is you can always plant produce in pots. Herbs, rocket, cherry tomatoes, chillies and strawberries all grow well. In the long run, these will offset some of your cost on fresh produce.

    Plus, when you have put the effort in to grow your own produce, you are less likely to waste it.

    Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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