Both matcha green tea and cayenne pepper extracts are popular ingredients that are found in fat burner supplements, but why is this?
What benefits do they provide that makes them supplement stalwarts?
Read on to find out why you should look for them both in a supplement to help you lose that stubborn fat.
Matcha Green Tea
So, what is matcha green tea? And, is it different to green tea extract which has been proven to contribute towards fat loss?
Matcha green tea still originates from the camellia sinensis plant. However, it is grown in a different manner which then produces a slightly different nutrient profile, and the whole leaf is used.
The end results is that the caffeine content, theanine and antioxidant levels are high in matcha green tea.
This then provides us with a host of health benefits, however, let’s concentrate on how it can help reduce fat levels.
Matcha Green Tea and Fat Loss
The combination of catechin epigallocatechin gallate and caffeine has been demonstrated in studies to enhance fat oxidization when a light exercise regime has been employed.
Furthermore, this high content of caffeine is also beneficial to reducing fat levels.
There is evidence which relates to high caffeine and the epigallocatechin gallate found in green tea increasing fat oxidization and an increase of thermogenic activity.
For those who are concerned about their body composition, particularly abdominal fat; high levels of catechins found in matcha have been able to reduce stomach fat in subjects whom were involved in a study published in 2010. It’s for this reason that matcha is an ingredient in fat burner supplements such as Hunter Burn.
These positive results are thought to be a result of both the catechins and caffeine influencing the actions of the sympathetic nervous system.
This activity increases energy expenditure which in turn helps create a calorie deficit and thus reducing fat.
Not only that, It is theorized that caffeine and catechins work together to increase calorie burn and fat oxidization.
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne peppers are moderately hot and are used in many food dishes, particularly in the America’s whereby they have been documented for use as far back as 9000 years.
The constituents of a cayenne pepper include numerous vitamins, minerals and electrolytes.
They are related to bell peppers, jalapenos and pimientos.
There’s evidence that they are useful for many health related applications, including pain relief and a reduction of inflammation.
Those hot peppers contain capsaicin and the naturally occuring compounds called capsaicinoids increase heat in the body quickly.
However, let’s take a look at the fat loss benefits.
Fat Loss
As already mentioned, capsaicinoids increase the core temperature of your body.
This process is called thermogenesis and it can contribute towards fat loss.
Studies have demonstrated that capsaicinoids can have a positive effect on the metabolism, and even just after 12 weeks administration of capsaicin has shown that it can reduce body fat percentage.
This is acheived by activating receptors which include white and brown fat cells, a result of this activity is enhanced energy expenditure.
In addition, capsaicin also effects your satiety and therefore helps to regulate your dietary calorie intake.
This was evident in clincial trials whereby participants saw a decrease in protein and fat intake after ingesting capsaicin.
This may contribute towards a calorie deficit.
Cayenne and Caffeine
It is worth also noting the effects of cayenne and caffeine combined, as matcha contains caffeine.
This is because there is evidence to support that the ingestion of cayenne and caffeine is able to reduce calorie intake even when food was freely available to those subjects in the study. [9]
Just avoid consuming overloads of caffeine as It can result in jittery side effects.
The Bottom Line
There’s plenty of evidence available from reputable sources which suggest that taking both cayenne and matcha green tea is beneficial to many areas of your health, not withstanding fat loss.
This is due to the thermogenic effects, actions regarding the sympathetic nervous system and by reducing your appetite which regulates calorie intake.
This combination can help you get closer towards achieving a calorie deficit which is required to reduce fat levels.
Supplements
At the start of this article we mentioned that both matcha green tea and cayenne pepper are found in supplements – most commonly, fat burners.
You may be unsure whether they are safe or not, however, thermogenic supplements have been noted to be safe for use by healthy adults for a period of at least 28 days. [10]
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