Naturopath Promotes Scientifically Unsubstantiated Claim That Cayenne Pepper Is ‘The Most Powerful Blood Thinner’

CLAIM

Cayenne pepper is the most powerful anticoagulant

DETAILS

Insufficient support: There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that cayenne pepper is a powerful blood thinner.
Faulty reasoning: Anticoagulants work by preventing blood from clotting. Rather, sealing blood vessels to stop bleeding requires blood clotting. Thus, claiming that cayenne pepper can both thin the blood and the bleeding of seals is contradictory.

KEY TO TAKE AWAY

Cayenne pepper is a plant commonly used to flavor dishes. Cayenne pepper contains capsaicin, a molecule responsible for the burning sensation when eating pepper. Capsaicin may increase the effect of anticoagulants, a type of medicine used to reduce the risk of blood clotting and thrombosis or embolism. However, cayenne pepper itself is not a powerful blood thinner and does not prevent bleeding, contrary to popular belief.

FULL CLAIM: Cayenne pepper is the most powerful anticoagulant and is able to seal off any bleeding.

The adage “Food is medicine” sums up one of the guiding principles of healthcare, recognizing the role our diet plays in our health. But this concept is sometimes simplistic and exploited to spread attractive but unsubstantiated claims about the healing properties of various foods.

One example is the claim that cayenne pepper is the most powerful anticoagulant and is capable of sealing off any bleeding as it passes through the body. Anticoagulants are substances that prevent blood from clotting or clotting. So some people may need to use an anticoagulant to reduce the risk of blood clotting, which can cause thrombosis or embolism.

Naturopath Barbara O’Neill is among the sources for this claim, which she made in videos now shared on TikTok and other platforms. O’Neill has no relevant health qualifications and has a history of spreading false health information. The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission banned her from providing health services, after it was found that she had told patients that cancer could be cured with sodium bicarbonate ( baking soda) and had promoted misleading advice about pregnancy and child-rearing.

This is not the first time that unsubstantiated claims have been made attributing health benefits to cayenne pepper. For example, cayenne pepper has been touted as a cure for stomach ulcers or as a preventative against heart attacks without scientific proof.

Here too, this is unfounded. Cayenne pepper contains the molecule capsaicin, responsible for the burning sensation when ingested, and capsaicin can increase the effect of blood thinners. However, there is no evidence that cayenne pepper is the most effective blood thinner. Cardiologist Geoffrey Barnes from the University of Michigan told Lead Stories:

Cayenne pepper is not the most powerful anticoagulant. There are several blood thinning medications that have been tested in large groups of people and shown to thin the blood. Cayenne pepper has not been tested in this way… There is no evidence that cayenne pepper… works as well as the medications we have tested

Additionally, a search of the PubMed scientific literature repository on the anticoagulant properties of cayenne pepper yielded no results.^#.

This statement also contradicts itself. As mentioned earlier, anticoagulants prevent blood from clotting or clotting. However, blood clotting is necessary to stop bleeding by plugging broken blood vessels. Thus, a substance cannot both act as an anticoagulant and stop bleeding, contrary to what the claim claims. This is why people using blood thinners may experience side effects like spontaneous or prolonged bleeding. In his comment on Lead Stories, Barnes added that if this is intended to seal the blood, it goes against what a blood thinner is.

In summary, the claim that cayenne pepper thins the blood but also promotes blood clotting is contradictory. There is no scientific evidence supporting the use of cayenne pepper as a blood thinner.

REMARKS

#Pubmed search query: (capsaicin[Title] OR Cayenne[Title] OR annual[Title] OR pepper[Title]) AND (“anticoagulant”[Title] OR “blood thinning”[Title] OR “anticoagulant”[Title] OR anticoagulant*[Title])