Cayenne Pepper Health Benefits: Unlocking Capsaicin's Power

Holy moly! OK, I switched to a shot glass to get it over with faster. 1/4 to 1/2 tsp in just that little bit of warm water and toss it back. If you're up to a whole teaspoon, I would suggest tossing back two shots of 1/2 each but I haven't gotten that far yet. The shot glass is so, so, SOOO much easier than tea and a straw with the hotter versions of cayenne. I could toss back these shots all day and I'm a monumental WUSS when it comes to hot stuff and this cayenne is rated 130,000. WAY hotter than the wussy 30k I used to use as tea. I was afraid I couldn't get this stuff down more than a tiny bit at a time but no MORE! WOOHOO!! I would liken it to using a straw because all the hot is at the back of the throat and dissipates very quickly. Particularly on one little sore spot that I have and that didn't burn near as much as it did yesterday. Also, you can fix up a shot and dip your finger in it, put it in your nose and sniff it off and up into your nose several times. Works very well. And if you tilt your head back and to the sides, it will get all up in the various sinus cavities. You should definitely google the "sinus cavity" images because, all together, they're HUGE! And all over the place in your head.

What you said about taking cayenne on an empty stomach is so true. I normally take it first thing after brushing my teeth, hey man you'll find me pounding up and down in trying to cool and settling my stomach from burning and sometimes I would even feel like vomiting for some minutes before I feel back to my senses. It is really a bad idea to take on an empty stomach. I regret every time after taking it. Thank you so much for your advise of eating before drinking the powder. God Bless.

I found that drinking cayenne pepper using a straw makes it go down faster with less burn and it keeps the lips from burning afterwards. I also bite down on a lemon wedge right after. I suck the juices and eat the pulp of the lemon. This helps a ton if you have heat issues.

Cayenne I always use the stuff from the spice isle at the supermarket. Otherwise you could grow some in pots.

Mix the cayenne pepper with tomato juice or vegetable juice. It goes down much easier than mixing it with water.

Cayenne is a stimulant. Don't take it too late in the day or it may keep you up all night.

I read where everyone is mixing with drinks etc, trying to kill the heat and taste or taking pills. I just cover my food with cayenne and love it. You get used to the heat very quickly and I use it at every meal, at least a teaspoon if not tablespoon, it's great in latte, red beer etc. If anything I over use it but I feel great, I always have a shaker of this pepper handy in my car, my suitcase, at work and camping.

I've been filling my own "00" gel caps with cayenne pepper for a year now, with no side effects. I take it orally now. This is the most beneficial way to do it. But you must start out with organic cayenne pepper at about 40, 000 SHU (heat units) by taking 1/8 tsp. In 4 oz. Room temp. Distilled water, after every meal and build up to hotter pepper.

DO NOT TAKE IT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH! YOU WILL REGRET IT!

I am now taking 1 level tsp. of organic cayenne pepper @ 90,000SHU in 4 oz. of distilled water after every meal. I can even swirl it around in my mouth for a while. You will get used to it...

This spice/herb is truly amazing.

I am 66 years old and I've never felt better in my life. If cayenne pepper was $50.00 a pound (which it isn't) I would still buy a pound every month.

Thanks for listening...

Thanks for the suggestion of using a straw! I mixed a tsp. of lemon juice(bottle), a tsp of honey, in 2tbsp of yogurt, w/ a pinch of cayenne(1/4 tsp. on a small plate to keep track of tolerance). Using a straw did the trick. The way I tried it before felt like getting punched in the chest. This way it is just warm going down and I can feel clearer breathing after 5 min. I also started burping quite a bit ( had a meal about 1-1/2 hrs. ago. I'll keep upping my dose and keep you posted. God Bless!

Well, yes, cayenne IS very hot. The grocery store cayenne is fine. In fact, I find it is sometimes fresher than the prepacked capsules. A bright red color is good. Just don't get it into your eyes or even under your fingernails. And you may want to try a very small amount at first. Hope it works for you.

I take Cayenne pepper in a small amount of cold water then drink warm water. I then take a spoonful of Honey. The burning is gone in half a minute.

To the person who had extreme side effects after taking cayenne capsules:

The reason you had this over reaction to the cayenne pepper pills is because you should never take anything that tastes hot in a pill form. The body needs to sense that some thing as hot as cayenne pepper is on its way down to the stomache and the stomache is then prepared with the appropriate digestive acids to accept the cayenne pepper to handle it and digest it without any reaction.

You may have been told by the people who sold you the pills that it's okay to take cayenne pepper in this form, but I will assure you it is not. Please listen to my advice or better yet do your own research on this and you will see I am telling you the truth.

Good luck,
Ellen

P. S. It is very easy to get cayenne into your diet and it is so cheap too. I put my cayenne in a glass of lemon juice which was freshly squeezed (and it needs to be an actual lemon, the fake plastic lemon juice dose nothing to help your health) and put a little cayenne pepper in and sweeten it with liquid stevia. It tastes refreshing and it is health promoting.

I have had much success with taking two teaspoons of cayenne pepper in a small cup of juice or beer (beer works really well--just about 3 ounces of it! ) but I have had unbearably bad side effects with cayenne *capsules*.

About 15-20 minutes after taking the capsules I get terrible, sharp stomach pains, cramps, and gas that last for a good 30 minutes and have me doubled over in pain. It feels like I swallowed a bomb!

I have read that cayenne should always be taken straight because digestion begins in the mouth, and the sharp spicy taste prepares the stomach to receive the pepper. For those fearful of the spicy taste, I vouch that I have a low "spicy-tolerance" and that when shooting the cayenne in a couple of ounces of liquid, the spiciness only lasts for 20-30 seconds and disappears completely. Not at all that lingering, intolerable burning we all know from eating Mexican food! Plus, drinking it straight gives you a pleasant head-rush and wave of energy. Cheers!

Cayenne Pepper suggestion: I started using cayenne for weight loss but love the way I immediately feel energized when I take it. I like covering it with cottage cheese but have stumbled across another way to take them by making my own cayenne pills. I bought empty Gelatin Capsules at a health food store and filled them with cayenne. The easiest way I found was to line up capsules on painters tape then, put another piece of painters tape on top of the capsules. This will keep them straight but you can fold them. Hold them over a pyrex dish and pour the cayenne all over them. You can tap them down several times and pour more until they are full. It's pretty easy to get the tops of the capsules on and beats trying to fill one at a time. Watch out for breathing the dust. You might want to use gloves or just be careful to keep your hands washed between working with the capsules.

I just wanted to comment that I know a great way of getting the cayenne down; pour it on cottage cheese. It goes down very easily with very little burn at all! I also add chopped eggs to it sometimes just to oomph it up a bit. I guess you could also chase it with water since this seems to be the rule here.