The Secret Cayenne Water Lemon Maple Syrup Drink Combination -- Does It Work?

There has been a lot of scuttlebut on the Internet about a new fat loss "wonder drink." Famous singer and actress Beyonce has reportedly loss a lot of weight recently with her diligent use of this drink and rigorous exercise. What's the truth and what's the fiction?

Does the concoction called the "cayenne pepper water lemon maple syrup drink" really facilitate weight loss?

Honestly, I don't know. That said, however, I do know about the incredible health benefits of cayenne pepper, perhaps the greatest health secret in the world.

Cayenne pepper has been used for thousands of years from the ancient Aztecs to ancient Asians and modern-day health enthusiasts like myself to great effect.

While it is incredible for the heart and venous structure and while it's clinically proven to kill cancer cells, to say it is a miraculous weight loss aid sounds far fetched to me.

We live in a fast-food, get-rich-quick, instant-results-wanting society.

We eat badly, get too little sleep, are constantly stressed by various stimuli and if we come upon something that promises, if not instant but, miraculous results, we jump on it.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying here. Look, I love cayenne pepper. Specifically, I love its great health benefits. I've proved to myself how incredible cayenne is for my own health. (I had one particularly bad health problem that cayenne helped in two days, and I'm not exaggerating.)

The problem is when I hear about some magical elixir that causes you to lose weight at accelerated speed, my common sense and judgment bells go off. It sounds too much like the ridiculous "snake oil" nonsense of the 19th century.

That said, I admit I am intrigued. I'm going to try it. I know cayenne is incredibly healthy as are lemons and maple syrup. I'm going to try it on a consistent basis and I'll write about my results.

I've done some research on this drink, which I'll give at the end of this page. First, though, I want to give you THE...

Proven Method of Weight Loss

The proven method for weight loss is not sexy. That process requires discipline and patience and those two qualities are not on many people's Christmas card list. The path of least resistance will always have less travelers than the high road of discipline.

One of the greatest thoughts I've ever come across was articulated by former British prime minister Edmund Burke who said, "Our patience will accomplish more than our force."

He was right. Now that I've grinded my axe, here's the "secret" to weight loss. It is:

1. Rigorous aerobic exercise
2. Weight training
3. A diet high in vital nutrients and low in calories
4. Reasonable, sensible supplementation
5. Planning
6. Patience
7. Discipline

You can get by without #2, 4 and maybe 5 as well (and sometimes to those with the right body type #1 and #3 as well), but steps 3, 6 and 7 are indispensible. I lost 20 pounds of pure fat in 8 months by running 3 to 5 miles twice a week, and I didn't watch my diet particularly well. It was the long-distance running and my patience and discipline. (My mother would've been surprised!)

Running is stressful to the body but it works. I used to bike 25 miles 2 times a week but it didn't take off any fat. Running did as it's so stressful for me. I lost a pound every two weeks or so, which is what bodybuilding/fitness experts say is about right.

Now let's talk about this health drink.

Research on the Cayenne Pepper Water Lemon Maple Syrup Drink

For an indepth overview on cayenne pepper's nutritional benefits, you should look at the "What is Cayenne Pepper" page on this site. I can tell you it is teeming with vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium and has a lot of B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium and others. Nevertheless, here is the core nutritional breakdown of cayenne for just 2 teaspoons or 1 gram.

What About Maple Syrup Nutritional Facts?

It is as an excellent source of the trace mineral manganese and of zinc. Zinc and manganese are good for your immune system, but that's not all.

Let's talk about manganese first. Manganese is an important co-factor with a number of enzymes that are important to antioxidant defenses. One medical website I came across said that there is one vital oxidative enzyme called superoxide dismutase that disarms free radicals (radicals cause aging and cell degradation in general).

It is powerful in disarming free radicals in the mitochondria, the boiler room, energy plant within the cells. This enzyme superoxide dismutase requires the cofactor manganese.

Furthermore, manganese is believed to play a vital role in your health as it a catalyst in the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol.

What about zinc? The zinc in maple syrup is an antioxidant or acts as one and limit endothelial damage caused by bad LDL cholesterol. (The endothelial is the inner lining of blood vessels.)

Zinc is vital to the immune system. It's important to have zinc as it supports the health function and existence of T lymphocytes, B cells and macrophages, which are types of white blood cells necesary for immunological defense. Manganese may also act as an immunostimulant.

Maple syrup is also believed to help support reproductive health and has many especially important health benefits for men. Zinc is concentrated in the prostate gland than in any other human tissue. It has been scientifically proven that low levels of zinc in this all-important male gland correspond to a higher risk for prostate cancer.  Zinc also participates in the production of sex hormones.

A nice, ancillary benefit of maple syrup is that it is sweet to the taste. Not many things sweet to the taste are good for you. Two teaspoons of maple syrup equal only 34 calories as well. That said, here are the core nutrional facts about maple syrup for 1 tablespoon or 20 grams:

Lemon Nutritional Facts

Lemon is a fruit that is teeming with vitamin C. One cup or 244 grams of lemon equals just 61 calories and 21 carbohydrates with 187% of the daily value recommended for vitamin C. For this cayenne pepper water lemon maple syrup drink, one or two ounces of lemon juice freshly squeezed would be used. Here is how that nutrional profile breaks down.

Notice that only one ounce is just seven calories. Now that we know the caloric and fat content of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup, let's see the totals:

• Cayenne pepper calories: 1 to 3 (prorated)
• Lemon juice: 7
• Maple syrup: 52
• Water: 0
• Total Calories: 60 to 63

While you would be getting some complement of vital nutrients, you would not be getting your full, daily requirment. That is ill advised. With this information at hand, I find it very unlikely that those who drink this concoction on a daily basis are completely healthy.

Now if they combine it with perhaps one large vegetable salad meal and another high-fiber, nutritious, non-processed meal, I can see why weight loss would occur.

Such a salad would have to have many vegetables in order to give the necessary vitamins, enzymes, minerals and carbohydrates needed for daily energy.

Just drinking this cayenne pepper water lemon maple syrup concoction a couple of times a day would still be insufficient and hunger would result. The psychological factor of a diet for hoped-for weight loss is a critical factor to consider as well.

Still, with that all said, two fruit or vegetable meals, combined with this drink would most definitely result in weight loss due to the intense caloric deficit. Add that diet and supplement regime to aerobic and a weight training program and weight loss is sure to happen.

Some are advocating that this drink should be used on a liquid fast to facilitate cleansing. That is an intriguing idea as I've been on many three-day pure fruit juice fasts in my life. If that is the case, this drink's stock has just risen in my book.

It's easier to believe in this drink as a cleanse facilitator than as an instant weight-loss potion.

Let me add a wrinkle here. Bee pollen is an incredible natural supplement. According to Carlson Wade in his book about bee pollen, one can live on only 30 or so grams of bee pollen a day as it has every vitamin, mineral, amino acid, enzyme and trace nutrient necessary to sustain life.

If you were taking this cayenne pepper water lemon maple syrup drink with one good vegetable meal a day AND a good bee pollen supplement or bee pollen granules in a drink, weight loss would occur with one's daily nutrient requirements being met.

Cayenne is one of the greatest health secrets in the world, but so is bee pollen. It's amazing.

I've been using bee pollen since 1981 and can attest to its incredible health benefits. To learn more about bee pollen, visit my BeePollenSecrets.com website for more information.

Last Word: Does this drink work? I think it could, but there are a few caveats in the mix too. Instead of looking for a magical pill or drink, look to change your lifestyle and utilize proven methods for weight loss. It's not information that is lacking. What people want is a shortcut and thus they lack patience and self-discipline.

There are great herbs and vitamin supplement products out there but people need to change their paradigm and look at things more objectively.

Cayenne pepper is the king of herbs and lemons and unprocessed maple syrup are very good for you, but they should only be used in combination with a sensible, reasonable program of weight loss that combines rigorous aerobic activity, diet, weight training (if you can) and wise supplementation with vitamin supplements that are manufactured in GMP-compliant facilities.

Lastly, if you're interested in supplementing or experimenting with cayenne, you can get more information about buying good quality cayenne at this article within this site. Or you can see a product price list here instead.

I hope this page has been useful to you.