Are Capsaicinoids the New Caffeine? What 14 Studies Say

Most people know capsaicinoids as the compounds that give chili peppers their spice.

Recently, they’ve also caught the attention of scientists as a way to boost athletic performance, with some studies showing they boost strength and endurance and help you do more volume (sets and reps) in the gym.¹²³⁴⁵⁶

Until recently, though, this was mostly a hypothesis based on looking at the effects of isolated capsaicinoid molecules and a handful of human trials showing mixed results.

The results of a 2022 meta-analysis conducted by scientists at Victoria University add a few missing pieces to this puzzle.⁷

They combed through 14 studies on capsaicin and capsiate (another molecule similar to capsaicinoids) and looked at three outcomes:

Aerobic endurance (e.g., time trials or time-to-exhaustion tests)—cardio, basically
Muscular endurance (e.g., how many reps you can do before reaching failure)
Rating of perceived exertion (RPE)—how hard exercise feels

The most interesting result was that weightlifters who took capsaicin and capsiate were able to do significantly more reps over three sets of exercises like the bench press, squat, and leg extension, and also reported that their workouts felt significantly easier.

In the studies on endurance performance, the results were inconsistent. Sometimes people taking capsaicinoids performed better and their RPE was lower, but most of the time they didn’t.

While comparing results across studies is tricky, the researchers noted that capsaicinoids’ effect on muscular endurance was roughly comparable to caffeine’s.⁸ They based this on the effect size—a statistic that describes how large a change is.

The similarities with caffeine don’t end at performance: capsaicinoids also have several benefits when it comes to fat loss. Research suggests capsaicinoids can help mobilize body fat stores and control appetite, and may modestly increase calorie burning.⁹¹⁰¹¹

Capsaicinoids also work through an entirely different mechanism than caffeine, so it’s likely the benefits are additive. That is, taking caffeine and capsaicinoids together could produce even more benefits than taking either in isolation.

Why aren’t more weightlifters taking capsaicinoids, then?

By my lights, the main reason is that supplement companies simply haven’t caught on yet.

This is strange, because typically supplement brands are desperate to grasp onto any molecule that seems vaguely promising so they can peddle it as a new, natural, safe steroid. Witness turkesterone, ecdysterone, tribulus terrestris, D-aspartic acid, deer velvet antler, and others.

That said, if studies continue to pile up, I doubt it’ll be long before the market is awash with capsaicinoid supplements.

If you’re looking for a natural capsaicinoid supplement that provides a clinically effective dose of capsaicinoids to support athletic performance, fat burning, and energy, try Pulse+ Burn. It’s a thermogenic pre-workout supplement that contains 100 milligrams of Capsimax™, which provides 2 milligrams of active capsaicinoids per serving.