It was a routine physical. Tuesday morning. The nurse wrote down 147/93. My doctor looked at the chart, then at me. The third year in a row the top number had climbed. 2022 was 138. 2023 was 142. Now this.

I had been taking cayenne every single day for six months because I read it was good for circulation. My readings barely moved. I figured the whole cayenne thing was a myth.

What my brother-in-law explained

Heat processing destroys the capsaicin, the part that actually does the work. And most brands use a tiny dose, 10 to 50mg, when the amount that matters is far higher. The cayenne was not the problem. The form was.

What I switched to

A liquid oil softgel with a 3,000mg equivalent of cayenne, standardized so the capsaicin survives, plus 6-year aged Korean ginseng. It absorbs into the bloodstream instead of being burned off in the stomach.