A lot of people are talking about the cayenne pepper and water diet. Controversy has surrounded the supposed cayenne pepper and water diet, mainly because of it’s connection with Beyonce Knowles who seemingly lost 20 pounds while filming the movie “Dreamgirls” surviving only on cayenne pepper and water.
The question that must be asked is can this be called a “diet”? Many would arfue that what Beyonce did was merely starve herself of food. Surely the cayenne pepper had no discernible results other than possibly contributing a little taste to the water?
It should be mentioned that there are recorded health benefits related to eating cayenne pepper, including aiding digestion, strengthening of the heart, claims it contains mild pain relieving qualities, and there are even accounts of applying cayenne as a dressing for wounds.
Even taking these benefits into consideration, can this cayenne pepper and water diet really be called a diet? It should more properly be seen as a purely starvation exercise undertaken by a committed actor wishing to lose weight quickly in pursuit of her art and career, presumably with the safety net afforded to highly paid and closely monitored movie stars. Presumably she will have been surrounded by assistants and helpers who would have been immediately on hand had Beyonce suffered from any starvation effects or ill health.
The danger in this story as with other fad diets is that impressionable people, young girls in particular, will have heard about this seemingly miraculous cayenne pepper and water diet and will want to try it themselves, with no regard to the obvious and significant health dangers in starving yourself in such a way. In particular this form of dieting could be very damaging if sustained for any length of time, any form of fasting should be carefully monitored for signs of deteriorating health.
So in conclusion is this really a Diet? I would suggest not, with the hype surrounding it currently it could be categorized as a fad, and potentially a dangerous one. The only safe way to permanently lose weight is to eat healthy food, eat in moderation, and crucially undertake regular exercise. If you do this you will burn excess fat, your arteries will stay clear and healthy and you won’t risk damaging your body by starving it of the food it needs to stay fit and healthy.