Abbadackerygirl (Alabama, US) on 02/05/2015

After a week of continuing to feel miserable, I forced myself out of bed to go with my family out to eat at a restaurant, and for some reason, the vegetable soup sounded like the only thing I wanted. I had never eaten at this restaurant before, so little did I know that the soup was SPICY! I usually don't eat spicy things, but I forced myself to eat the soup...then something magical happened. With each painful bite, I could actually feel my strength returning. As I continued to eat the warm broth, my aches and pains subsided, and I felt better and better...way better than I had in a week! Why was this soup making me feel so good, I wondered? Then I remembered the suggestion to use cayenne pepper...and I wondered if the chef used it to spice up the soup. He insisted that he didn't, instead he used a hot sauce...a lot of it, lol. I asked if I could read what was on the bottle, so he ran to the back and grabbed it for me to read. When I looked at it, low and behold, the first ingredient was...cayenne pepper.

I was sold. This wasn't a case of the placebo effect, as all I wanted to do was eat. I didn't think that this soup would cure me when I ordered it, but in the end, it helped so much that I ended up naming it, the Magic Feel-Better Soup. Ha ha...I wonder if they changed the name after I called it that, but I haven't been back to check.

Replied By Michele (Harrisburg, Pa) on 11/01/2016

There was a nasty sore throat going around work, which incapacitated my workaholic boss for days. I started feeling it myself one morning, and knew I'd need to be aggressive with trying to kick it out before it became miserable. After reading this post, I decided to give the soup with cayenne a try. I've tried gargling with cayenne in the past, but it's not for me. I made the vegetable soup, but added the cayenne as I ate it, not putting it in the whole batch (in case I overdid it). That way I could also gradually reduce it as I got better. I really added it in heavily at first. That night, I didn't have any throat pain. The next day I ate more with the same amount of cayenne, which I couldn't tolerate as much so I diluted it a little with bouillon broth. That night I also didn't have any pain, nor have I had any since. I definitely have a cold, but the cayenne really seemed to help avert a sore throat crisis. Thanks so much for posting this! I would've never thought to put it in soup.

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