The Greek physician, Hippocrates, famously said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” Knowing about foods and their benefits gives us the power to direct our health in a positive direction. This article will examine the benefits and uses of cayenne pepper for enhanced health and healing.Again and again, the therapeutic value of cayenne pepper has been medically validated”. What is cayenne pepper? What are common benefits? How does it affect the heart? Can it help me lose weight?
THE EVOLUTION OF CAYENNE PEPPER FOR HEALING
Cayenne peppers originated in South America and have been cultivated for over 7,000 years. These peppers served as decoration first then were used to add flavor and heat to foods, and eventually, cayenne was used for medicinal properties. Time has validated its usage as expressed by Dr. Patrick Quillin: “Recent clinical studies have been conducted on many of the old time health applications for this miracle herb.
WHAT IS A CAYENNE PEPPER?
Cayenne possesses a high concentration of a substance called capsaicin, which is known for its pain-relief and decongestant properties as well as its ability to lower the risk of heart attack and ulcers. The bright red color of the pepper indicates the contents of immunity-boosting vitamin A (the pepper contains almost 50% of daily needs).
WHAT ARE COMMON USES AND BENEFITS?
Cayenne is an amazing food and is mild enough to be eaten at every meal, but might be powerful enough to stop a heart attack. It has been shown to relieve a variety of ailments including
heartburn,- lumbago,
- delirium,
- flatulence,
- sore throat,
- nausea,
- gout,
- fever,
- dyspepsia,
- irritation,
- influenza,
- headaches,
- allergies,
- indigestion,
- joint pain,
- tremors,
- inflammation,
- fungal infections,
- arthritic pain,
- paralysis,
- snake bite,
- rheumatism,
- tooth aches/infections,
- sores,
- wounds,
- hemorrhoids,
- high blood pressure,
- fibromyalgia,
- tonsillitis
If used topically, a handful of cayenne powder applied to a wound can equalize the blood, help with clotting, and cease blood loss. If ingested, it should be noted that the spiciness of the peppers can cause some indigestion.
DOES CAYENNE PEPPER AFFECT THE HEART?
John Raymond Christopher (1909–1983), an American herbalist often referred to as “Dr. Christopher,” testifies to this astounding power: “In 35 years of practice, and working with the people and teaching, I have never on house calls lost one heart attack patient and the reason is, whenever I go in, if they are still breathing, I pour down them a cup of cayenne tea (a teaspoon of cayenne in a cup of hot water), and within minutes they are up and around.”
A personal account of cayenne’s life-changing power can be found in the book, Left for Dead, by Dick Quinn. He had quadruple bypass surgery as a result of heart disease and was left in a state of immobility and poor health. One day on a trip to the park with f
amily, Dick was sitting his wheelchair and was approached by an elderly lady who was full of life and energy. When he explained that he had heart disease and then a quadruple bypass but wasn’t recovering very well, she suggested that he take a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. He didn’t take her advice right away, but his health kept deteriorating and most options had been exhausted. The time arrived that he was finally ready to try cayenne. He took a teaspoon of cayenne, followed it down with some water and after a shocking moment of extreme discomfort, he felt wonderful! In a few hours he went from hardly being able to get out of bed to shoveling snow and has spent his life spreading the wonders of cayenne.
CAYENNE PEPPER FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Cayenne pepper has been shown to be effective in reducing weight. At the Laval University in Quebec, scientists correlated a decreased appetite with eating cayenne as a part of breakfast, which led to less caloric intake throughout the day. Because of its heat, cayenne also boosts metabolism by aiding the body in burning fat. The metabolic miracle lies in the heat production (known as thermogenesis) and oxygen consumption for up to 20 minutes after the pepper is eaten.
HOW IS CAYENNE INGESTED?
Cayenne can be used topically or can be ingested as a powder, capsule, or eaten as a whole pepper (not for the faint of heart!). Powdered cayenne can be added to warm water to create a tea-like substance and crushed red pepper can be interspersed in almost any dish as a substitute or in addition to black pepper.
TIPS ON GROWING AND PREPARING CAYENNE PEPPERS
Easy to grow, cayenne peppers make a wonderful addition to a garden. The peppers go through stages on the vine shifting from green, to orange, and finally a brilliant red color with the outer flesh softening through every stage.Once your soft, bright red pepper is harvested, you can slice it open and collect the seeds to be dried and used in future planting. 
With the seeds removed, you can cook the peppers on a foil-lined cookie sheet at a maximum of 175 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-10 hours, or, if you leave the pepper whole, for 8-12 hours. Once the peppers are dried, you can break the stem off and crush them into a course powder. The peppers can also be stored and freshly crushed when needed.
The benefits of this superfood are truly staggering and I encourage you to seek your own experiences with it!
REFERENCES
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- Bortolotti M, Porta S. Effect of red pepper on symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome: preliminary study. Dig Dis Sci. 2011 Nov;56(11):3288-95. doi: 10.1007/s10620-011-1740-9. Epub 2011 May 15. PubMed
- Chrubasik S, Weiser T, Beime B. Effectiveness and safety of topical capsaicin cream in the treatment of chronic soft tissue pain. Phytother Res. 2010 Dec;24(12):1877-85. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3335. PubMed
- Complete Online Writings of Dr. John Christopher, Online School of Natural Healing 100 Herb Syllabus
- Loeser J, Pilgram B, Dagtekin O. [Chili for therapy of trigeminus neuralgia: a case report]. Schmerz. 2012 Aug;26(4):435-7. doi: 10.1007/s00482-012-1180-2. PubMed
- P.C. Agarwal, Usha Dev, Baleshwar Singh, Indra Rani, Dinesh Chand, R.K. Khetarpal. Seed-borne fungi identified from exotic pepper (Capsicum spp.) germplasm samples introduced during 1976–2005. PGR Newsletter – Bioversity. issue. 149, pp.39-42.
- Quinn, Dick, Left for Dead, R F Quinn Pub Co, December 1991, ISBN-10: 0963283901
- Saito M, Yoneshiro T. Capsinoids and related food ingredients activating brown fat thermogenesis and reducing body fat in humans. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2013 Feb;24(1):71-7. doi: 10.1097/MOL.0b013e32835a4f40. PubMed
- Urashima M, Segawa T, Okazaki M, Kurihara M, Wada Y, Ida H. Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 May;91(5):1255-60. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.29094. Epub 2010 Mar 10. PubMed
- Whiting S, Derbyshire E, Tiwari BK. Capsaicinoids and capsinoids. A potential role for weight management? A systematic review of the evidence. Appetite. 2012 Oct;59(2):341-8. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.05.015. Epub 2012 May 22. PubMed
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This article was written by Jessica Johnson. Jessica is a Monterey Bay Holistic Alliance Health and Wellness Educator. Jessica has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Management with an Economics and International Studies Minor from the University of Central Misouri (UCM). She is currently working as Assistant Manager and Sales Representative in Pacific Grove, California. She was Vice President of Delta Epsilon Iota Honor Society from 2011-2012 and is a sales representative for Young Living Essential Oils Company. Jessica is passionate about holistic health and healing. The Monterey Bay Holistic Alliance is a registered 501 (c) 3 nonprofit health and wellness education organization. For more information about the Monterey Bay Holistic Alliance contact us or visit our website at http://www.montereybayholistic.com. All images are copyright free, from http://www.pixabay.com unless otherwise noted.
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