Cayenne Pepper Health Benefits: Unlocking Capsaicin's Power

I have been reading your readers' emails and I wanted to make some comments about Cayenne Pepper. Cayenne is one of my favorate herbs for myself and my clients. I had prostate cancer 18 years ago and I cured it naturally using herbs, cleansing and diet only.

For the cancer I used the John Ray Christopher method of cayenne tea with a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in warm water 3 times daily. Today I still use one or more teaspoons daily in my food at every meal.

Just recently I received a call from a Doctor of Chinese medicine who was throwing up blood from ulcers. As I alway do I suggested cayenne capsuls using 100,000 heat units plus. He could not believe that this would work but he took my advice and within a few days his problem was over. Of course I also gave him some advice on changing diet and lifestyle.

In my 18 years as a naturopahtic healer, I have used cayenne many times for bleeding ulcers. Cayenne also works great for emphysema sufferors, I have seen patients get off oxygen bottles and out of wheelchairs. But the person with the disease must go beyond the herb for the disease and look at the way they eat and their lifestyle. If they do not change their life the disease will appear somewhere else in another form.

Any time I am stuffed up, I add a little cayenne powder to my food and instantly my sinuses clear up! I also add cayenne to apple cider vinegar and water... that too is another good remedy for sinus congestion.

Applying powdered cayenne to a wound stops the bleeding within minutes! I've read that you can also take it to treat internal bleeding. I think the recipe is 1/4 teaspoon in a glass of tomato juice.

While ginger seems to restore energy in most cases, however I find capsicum powder (cayenne peppers) mixed with fresh ginger works the best as it helps with circulation. Especially works well if you are drowsy and raises oxygen level to those tiny capillaries which receives little or no blood flow. If you can find them, fresh ginger and fresh cayenne peppers (fine chopped) work the best due to higher bioflavanoid, vitamin P content, as well as vitamin C, etc.

When I need a good good circulation, I just eat the ginger, then the fresh cayenne peppers. The ratio is 50:50.

Of course, I don't expect anyone will do that, so just try getting a mortar and pestle and mix the fresh cayenne peppers and ginger. Try 1/4-1/2 teaspoon for each. Then either mix them in lemon and honey. I can't be too specific about the recipes. It depends on how well you can tolerate the hot taste of peppers. Fresh peppers worked the best.

If you find this too hard for the stomach, just take Vitamin B3, Niacin. That will get you on skin flushing and it works also, but differently. Cayenne peppers are more powerful and for the heart. While Niacin seems to be active on small capillary circulation on the skin. Niacin seems to reduce cholesterol and helps repair damage tissues (such as gum disease and heart circulation also).

Well, where to begin.

I got up Sunday with a tickle in my throat. I was suppose to sing at church and by the time I arrive could not. By half time of Superbowl the sore throat an congestion had set in.

Worked Mon, Tues and Wed thinking I could get through it, but after not sleeping Tues and Wed, I was simply put exhausted and tired of being sick.

Called in sick Thurs, figuring I really needed to rest to beat this, since I had not been this sick in 5 years. Missed work again Fri. By Fri evening I decided to look online for natural remedies.

My symptoms, sore (strep throat), hard packed congestion, coughing up the vilest green/yellow crap I have ever seen.

Having diagnosed myself with strep throat, I search Dogpile with ("strep throat" "natural cures"). This is how I found the Earthclinic website, of which I consider myself blessed to have found.

Under the "sore throat" section I read the "Penny's cayenne pepper remedy". I thought to myself, you have got to be kidding me.

However, I was so miserable I figured what do I have to loose. So I sprinkled some cayenne in a glass, mixed in some warm water and gargled about 5 times (swallowing only a very small amount each time).

By the time I was done, I could tell there was something good happening. I waited 15 minutes and repeated the same procedure. When I finished I just couldn't believe it. My swollen sore glands were all but gone and the thick green/yellow was breaking up.

I said "praise God", took a Melatonin (for sleeping) and crashed. I woke up about 3 hours later, hawked a few loogies (no where near as bad as before), gargled again and went back to sleep.

When I got up in the morning I simply could not believe how good my throat felt, so I gargled again thinking if what I did makes me feel this good, doing it again will make me feel even better. However, my sinuses were still pretty packed and discharge still fairly green/yellow.

By now Doris, my wife, had arose around 6:00 a.m. (she had the same thing prior to my getting it and still had not fully recovered now almost 2 weeks after it started). I told her the above, she then asked where did I get the info and what do they say about sinus infections.

We both looked at the site this morning and saw the info about Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). We looked at each other in amazement, looked at the ACV on the top of the stove and made a couple of ACV cocktails for breakfast.

Within an hour I had no more green/yellow snot. It is now 10:30 a.m. and my nose still runs abit but clear discharge verses the vile stuff previously mentioned. I simply cannot put into words how much better my throat feels. 12 hours earlier I told my wife the best thing I could use for my throat would be a knife. :-)

I am still coughing a little but nothing like the 4 days prior that make your head ache and pound. Even sitting here finishing this script, I keep saying outloud to myself, "I can't believe how good my throat feels! I can't believe how good my throat feels! ..."

I am a skeptic who has been turned into an advocate. The only thing you have to loose is sleepless nights and a smaller pay check. Are you with me??

This worked great, i could feel the difference within ten minutes of my first time gargling.

I tried gargling 1 tbls of cayenne pepper with very warm water for about 10 min straight and it helped me so much with my sore throat and cough.

Cayenne pepper cured a sore throat that had expanded and totally shut down all breathing including through the nose and mouth. I take 1/2 tsp of 90k heat units of cayenne daily in my protein drink along with several fruits and herbs etc. This past Friday night my throat became very sore and I could not swallow. The throat swelled and totally closed off. Breathing through the nostrils ceased as well. I put my fingers down my throat to give a convulsive reaction and try to get some air. My wife was going to call 911 and I waved her off. Finally after several tries to throw up I was able to get a little air. I had my wife drive to the store for some expectorants/lozenges etc. (the usual things we try).

I jumped on the net and found your site about the cayenne and gargle. I could not gargle so put 1/2 tsp of cayenne in warm water and sipped it down.

The breathing started to come back almost instantly.

After 3 cups of 1.2 tsp each, my breathing was back to normal and I was able to sleep for 5 hours without any discomfort. When I woke up, my throat was still a little sore so I drank a cup of "brew" 5 times during the day. The breathing was fine and the sore throat was gone but I still had some "cold" symptoms.

After two days I feel great. Being able to take a deep unrestricted breath has never felt so good.I noticed on your responses I was reading some people say they "sprinkle" some on and it doesn't work. Others are afraid to swallow some for fear it will hurt them.

Cayenne is one of the best herbs we have and has many uses. I would not use less than 1/2 tsp in a cup of water either warm or cold it still works.

Cayenne will heal internal bleeding and ulcers. It helps the heart and helps clear the arteries. Next time you have a cut and are bleeding take cayenne and "sprinkle" it liberally over the cut and watch it stop bleeding almost instantaneously. A great drink for hiking or driving long distances is about 20 ounces of fresh grape juice that you make in the blender and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of cayenne. It takes a short while to get used to it BUT you will not fall asleep at the wheel and it is great for extra energy on a hike. We have used it for years.

I am glad I found your site and kick myself I did not think to put cayenne in water and drink it myself when I was in total oxygen deprivation.

A little trick to cut down on the really "hot" feel when swallowing cayenne:

Take a couple of swallows of cayenne then immediately close your mouth and do not breathe either through your nose or mouth. Wait about 10 seconds and drink a couple of swallows of water etc.

Also the "cayenne heat" slows down with each swallow until after awhile you barely notice it. Please notice that the store bought cayenne in the bottles is normally 5k heat units and some from health food stores is 40k heat units and some will be 90k heat units.

You can also special order it up to over 200k heat units. If you are using 5k heat units it will take a little more to get the desired results. As for swallowing cayenne, it is good stuff for your system and has vitamin "C" to boot.

If it is too late, as in strep, it takes gargling with cayenne in water every fifteen minutes until it goes, and be patient, because it GOES.

I haven't had a sore throat take hold in 15 years or more, though many have tried to start up, which also is a way for many illnesses to sprout.

I generally will gargle cayenne in water at whatever strength I like and do it as much as I can until I tire of it, and then repeat every fifteen minutes, each time swallowing a tiny bit real slowly (not necessary).

It only stings the tongue a little when spitting out, otherwise, no discomfort, you can get used to even the swallowing part when you see how well it works.

I use the cheap Mex. stuff, but also keep on hand in refir the pesticide free stuff from health store.

Cayenne is a miracle cure for ulcers and so many other conditions, plus aids assimilation of nutrients and vitamins. I will keep cayenne in water in the bathroom in case I get up in the night, so I can gargle once in the night if I am very sick, but if it is in water, it will go bad quickly and needs to be put back in refridge in morning.

Afterwards suck on a clove (see below). I have never seen a sore throat that won't succumb to it.

For High Blood Pressure, I have tried the Cayenne Pepper and Golden Seal capsules. I would generally take two in the morning and 2 in the evening. Worked pretty good. I also have tried the apple cider vinegar and that works well too. 2 to 3 tsp 3 times a day did it for me.

I luv to share this. I was told as a 40-something African Amer woman, that I was borderline hypertensive and put on meds. Not good. I was falling asleep. Also no good to cut the dose -- comatose.

A friend told me about a folk remedy - cayenne pepper. She said it needed to be organic cayenne- it's stronger, I guess. I am now over 50 and my pressure is usually in the range of 110/70.

I do take a 12mg. water pill to keep me from retaining water also. I started with @1/4 tsp (of cayenne) in any liquid you want 2x a day. If needed, you can up this to 1/2 tsp but do this slowly so your body can adjust to the increase.

Now I do watch my salt intake but I only use the cayenne when I have had a particularly salty dish.

I have suffered from chronic diarrhea for sixteen years due to having Crohn's disease. I read on your site about using cayenne pepper for this. I went and bought cayenne pepper capsules and it is working great. I am concerned though that this may cause ulcers? Also, I have a colonoscopy scheduled soon and the bottle says to stop taking two weeks before surgery. I am wondering if that would apply to my procedure as well. I also wonder why I should stop taking it before surgery.

A friend told me about cayenne for cuts and infections. I added salt to it, because that's what I used to use and I liked the taste with salt, and it has cured everything I have used it on. I even broke up completely blocked sinuses with the mix, squirting it in my nose. Go easy and dilute it a lot more than for gargling, since it is Hot, but it works SO fast, and the burn doesn't last very long.

I have used it on so many infections, and had a hound that had some chronic digestive problems. I had cured most of them with yogurt and tripe, but he still wasn't right. When he got diarrhea and it was in to its 5th day and Nothing was working, I thought, maybe he had been harboring some bad bacteria all the yrs, and they increased. I had been giving him rice so mixed some cayenne in. It was a funny scene as he took a bite, shook his head, snorted, and walked around the yard, always coming back to eat more till he finished it. The next day his stools were firm!! I made up 2 capsules and gave them just to make sure the cayenne got into his intestines, but I don't think they were needed. His food sensitivities disappeared AND what had been a Very Skiddish animal after a bad scare when I first got him, and he had many before, became brave, and he became a normal, confident animal that I was always trying to create, and Believe Me, I am a Master at desensitizing scared animals, and in minutes, but this guy was a Real challenge. His problem was he never felt well enough to be bold, and he would go aggressive when he felt threatened.

Try cayenne And salt for Any and every infection, or what you think may be one. Boil it and drink it for urinary tract ones. Vince F

I make up a plaster with cayenne and salt to cure muscle strains and pains.

I wet a paper towel and sprinkle just a little of both on it, and apply.

The salt is rough being crystals, and irritates the skin a bit, so I make a saline solution and wet the paper towel with that. The cayenne may irritate some people's skin, but it is used for irritated skin, so isn't a big problem.

I even heard of using it on sunburn.) It usually takes 20min to cure pains or strains. I once had a really strained back and leg. The back came from working under a car, laying on concrete, and the leg was sciatica from sitting on a wooden bench after it.

My back hurt from my neck to my foot, and my thigh would hurt SO bad I could only walk about 75' before I had to sit down. I decided to do the cayenne plaster, and I was SO bad I felt I had to really heat it up. I used a piece of paper/plastic drop cloth, since I was going to add a heating pad, and didn't want it to dry out or wet the pad. I cut a piece to reach from my neck to my butt, applied it and heated it up. The regular plaster usually only needs to stay in place till the heat of the cayenne dissipates.

I kept this on a while longer, and after I removed it the pain was gone.

I had Athletes' Foot between 2 toes that sit against each other. I had it off and on for years. It was hard to dry them after a shower, and when in a rush, I don't think I did it that well, and then sitting against each other, I would probably really have to, and sweating probably cause it also. I only applied cayenne in salt water one time, and it has been gone for years. Usually it has to stay in place for a while on skin surfaces, so I soak the gauze on a bandaid, but since my toes touch, I didn't have to.