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Health
Opinions about Peppers
Chillies....."This
remarkable culinary herb is a classic, and powerful, "alterative"
which means that it regulates an imbalance which has gone
awry in either direction. In this case, if your stroke is
ischemic (due to a clot cutting off proper blood flow to the
brain) the Cayenne will stimulate the return of blood to the
cerebral tissues. If, on the other hand, your stroke is hemorrhagic
(a bleed inside the skull), the Cayenne will act as a local
styptic (staunching blood flow). The best way to take Cayenne
for maximizing your circulatory power is a hearty pinch in
a small glass of water first thing each morning. You may want
to find a small jar with a lid to shake up this firy-hot and
tasty little toast. Especially great on cold days; it will
keep your feet and hands warm for hours."
[http://www.djherbs.com/cardiohealth.htm]
"Capsicum increases circulation of blood to peripheral
tissues, ensuring that nutrients are delivered to needy areas.
Capsicum also supports blood flow."
[http://www.treelite.com/NaturesField/CAPSICUM.html]
"The hot stimulating properties of this pepper make it
useful in clearing mucus, eliminating headaches and circulating
the blood. Capsicum seems to have an anti-inflammatory property
and has also been found to protect the lung tissue. In this
way it has shown to cut the recovery time of colds and flus
in half when taken liberally in the early stages of these
diseases."
[http://www.geocities.com/nutriflip/Naturopathy/Capsicum.html]
"The dried fruit is a powerful local stimulant with no
narcotic effect, it is most useful in atony of the intestines
and stomach. It has proved efficacious in dilating blood vessels
and thus relieving chronic congestion of people addicted to
drink. It is sometimes used as a tonic and is said to be unequalled
in warding off disease (probably due to the high vitamin C
content)."
[http://cancer.med.upenn.edu/cancer_news/1994/hot_candy.html]
"Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine have
devised a candy, composed of hot chili peppers, to ease mouth
pain in cancer patients. The taffy candy contains capsaicin
-- the active ingredient in chili peppers -- to provide control
of pain after repeated applications"
[http://www.viable-herbal.com/herbdesc/1capsicu.htm]
"Long used as a food spice and an aid to digestion, red
chilies or cayenne peppers were once thought to aggravate
stomach ulcers. This fear has been discounted by researchers
who became excited by studies that indicated that capsicum
could help prevent the formation of dangerous blood clots.
Now new research is focusing on this spices ability to act
as an anti-inflammatory agent, and aid in controlling pain."
[http://www.healthcentral.com/peoplespharmacy/PharmFullText.cfm?id=31927]
"Capsaicin is the ingredient that makes chile peppers
taste hot. It is used in topical creams such as Capsin, Capzasin-P,
Dolorac and Zostrix to treat arthritis and the pain that may
follow an attack of shingles. Dermatologists have reported
that applying capsaicin to the skin may reduce the redness
and itch of psoriasis. Check with your doctor before using
this approach."
[http://www.thenutritionreporter.com/hot_stuff.html]
"
Doctors
know that people suffering from osteoarthritis typically have
elevated levels of decapeptide substance P (DSP) in their
blood and in the synovial fluid that bathes their joints.
DSP has two undesirable functions. First, it breaks down the
cartilage cushions in joints, contributing to osteoarthritis.
Second, it serves as a pain neurotransmitter in both osteoarthritis
and rheumatoid arthritis. In other words, if you have a lot
of DSP, you feel a lot pain. However, researchers have discovered
that capsaicin - known to chemists as trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide
- inhibits the activity of DSP. A cream containing capsaicin,
rubbed on the skin, penetrates to arthritic joints, where
it stops the destruction of cartilage, relieves pain, and
increases flexibility."
[http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/deanfulltexttopics.cfm?id=44087]
"Will eating spicy, hot food now burnout my taste buds
when I'm older? .......No, because it is the pain fibers on
the tongue, not the taste buds, that respond to spicy food.
Some people claim that capsaicin, which is the main ingredient
in a lot of spicy foods, relieves everything from arthritis,
to migraines, to psoriasis. I think spice was originally used
as a food preservative, because germs don't like spice. So
spices were a means of keeping food bacteria-free. So far
no evidence of damage from spicy food exists; it doesn't even
aggravate ulcers as we used to think."
[http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/sustainable/peet/profiles/c14peppe.html]
"An antioxidant, chili is also useful in preserving food.......One
sweet bell pepper weighing 74g has 15 calories, 6 percent
RDA of Vitamin A and 150 percent RDA Vitamin C. If the green
peppers ripen on the plant long enough to color, both Vitamin
A and Vitamin C content increase. One teaspoon of dried red
pepper has 26 percent RDA of Vitamin A"
[http://www.bagelhole.org/drafts/Capsicain.html]
"A tea made of cayenne peppers works well to clear stuffy
noses. It is painful but cayenne powder on a cut starts clotting
pretty quick."
[http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/tcaw/00/may/dong.html]
"Contrary to the common belief that spicy foods cause
ulcers, studies have found no increased incidence of stomach
ulcers in countries of high pepper consumption such as Brazil
or Thailand. Because they interact with pain receptors and
desensitize them through repeated contact, capsaicins are
used in over-the-counter dermatological ointments (0.025%)
for the relief of itchy skin, psoriasis, shingles, muscle
aches, or pain from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
New salves for AIDS patients to alleviate leg pain are in
development. Capsaicin also has a rich history in alternative
medicine. Reported benefits include antimicrobial, anticoagulant,
or anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to promote
circulation or to relieve cold symptoms by clearing the sinus.
Studies are under way to investigate whether capsaicin can
increase the metabolism of body fat by raising metabolic rate
and body temperature."
[http://www.ncmedicaljournal.com/Smith-OK.htm]
"In Thailand, ingestion of capsicum is associated with
increased fibrinolytic activity and hypocoagulability, resulting
in higher antithrombin III and lower plasma fibrinogen levels.
These may explain the lower incidence of thromboembolic disease
in Thai people."
[http://www.confex.com/ift/99annual/abstracts/3738.htm]
"Red pepper fruit were a better source of antioxidants
than green fruit, due to greater contents of ascorbic acid
and phenolic compounds, including capsaicinoids. Red fruit
also had greater levels of total sugars than green fruit.
As pepper consumption increases due to greater popularity
of ethnic foods, peppers may provide notable amounts of antioxidants
to the human diet"
[http://www.tagnet.org/abstracts/search/v5/n3/v5n31.htm]
"Capsaicin, found in various hot peppers, has adverse
effects on the peripheral nervous system. It also has adverse
effects on several important centers in the brain, and on
enzyme and neuroprotein function in the brain. Intestinal
action on various nutrients, including protein, is altered
to our injury. Furthermore, the blood vessels and heart are
particularly sensitive to toxic factors in capsaicin. One
dose of capsaicin is sufficient to destroy almost all substance
P (an important nerve chemical related to endorphins) in the
dorsal root ganglia of the nervous system, and causes about
a 50 percent loss from part of the spinal cord. Loss of substance
P may also lead to urinary retention, and because of the partial
paralyzing effect on the bladder, is undoubtedly only part
of why peppers irritate the bladder and prostate. Even low
doses lead to low core body temperature (hypothermia), also
due to a toxic influence on the brain. Capsaicin also interferes
with glucose uptake, and at least one study suggests that
it may cause cancer of the duodenum."
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It
is believed that relief of PMS can come from the Endorphin
release after eating chiles, although there is certainly the
possibility of other factors coming into play. Aside from
the documented physiological/psychological effects of endorphins,
chiles are high in compounds known as Bioflavinoids.
These
compounds are powerful anti-inflammitories. Bioflavinoids
are also noted to help blood vessel walls strengthen and lessen
bleeding. This could be another source of the relief. Chiles
are also cited by nearly every homeopathic and home remedy
book to be able to reduce inflammations. Chiles are believed
by many peoples to achieve this effect through a normalising
of blood pressures and blood flows in the body. Chiles are
also noted to be relatively high in magnesium. Some time ago,
bananas were touted as the ultimate cure for PMS when it was
found that potassium helped to relieve the symptoms associated
with PMS. Magnesium comes from the same family on the periodic
table and could potentially mimic this effect. (My thanks
to Jim Campbell of the Mild to Wild Pepper and Herb Co. who
posted this to the Chile-Heads mailing list.)
...
In its relation with the respiratory system, the chile pepper
acts like an expectorant because it contributes to the elimination
of the mucus and in this way, helps decongest the respiratory
tracts. The Aztecs utilised it as a remedy for cough, in a
thick atole with yellow chile and honey; if the cough persisted,
they drank an infusion of salt and chile. The Tarahumara Indians
still use it to remedy bronchitis and. throat irritations.
It was noted (as per Dr. Irwen Zimet via Amal Naj - Peppers,
A Story of Hot Pursuits), that an essentially synthetic version
of Capsaicin, Guafenesein, is used in most modern cough syrups.
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