I’ve always been a fan of red peppers—but let’s just say the feeling hasn’t always been mutual. The same fiery compound that makes chili peppers burn so good—capsaicin—is also the reason some of us end up regretting every “fat-burning” capsule we swallow.

For more than a decade, I’ve formulated dozens of products using standardized capsaicin extracts for one reason: they work. Capsaicin helps increase calorie burn and activate brown fat, making it a powerful tool for calorie burning and metabolic support. But here’s the problem—they can torch the #! out of your gut. Most people handle it fine. Others? Their GI tract lights up like Cape Canaveral preparing for launch. I’m talking excessively violent bouts of gastric distress.

So, when I visited SupplySide Connect this April, I met Elias Chiatalas from SEE Nutrition and was intrigued by what he had to offer. He handed me a sample bottle of aXivite^®, a next-gen thermogenic ingredient I had somehow missed. The ingredient was phenylcapsaicin, an easy on the stomach synthetic analog of capsaicin. The same fat burning powerhouse I’ve relied on for years-just without the gut punch. Still, I had to find out for myself.

Back home in Tampa, I reluctantly took two capsules (60mg each). I braced for impact. Nothing. No stomach churn. No emergency protocols. In fact, once I got to work, I forgot all about it—once lunch rolled around, I realized that I had no problems, and I felt great.

I’ve joked around, but here’s the truth, if you’ve sworn off red pepper-based ingredients due to its side effects, I get it. But this one? This one’s different. aXivite^® is the real deal, and I’m delighted to see it popping up in numerous products from a variety of brands.

Curious where to find it? Start with products like Hardcore Liquid Heat by HydroxyCut, AlphaTest Thermo XTR by MuscleTech, featuring 56-65mg of aXivite^® per serving, or crank it up with UNMATCHED 2SHRED AM or Metabolism by SilverFern Brand which delivers a full 100-120mg dose of aXivite^®. If you want to go crazy and try the highest clinically studied dose of 250mg for sports performance look to Axivite by Carotec or MaxReps Elite by OmneDiem.Trust me—if you’ve ever wanted the burn without the blowtorch, it’s time to give aXivite^® a well-deserved try.

To learn more about aXivite^®, click here.