Herbal Medicine - Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne pepper
Prized for thousands of years for its healing power.  Folklore from
around the world recounts amazing results using cayenne pepper in
simple healing and in baffling health problems. But cayenne pepper is
not just a healer from ancient history. Recent clinical studies have
been conducted on many of the old-time health applications for this
miracle herb. Again and again, the therapeutic value of cayenne pepper
has been medically validated.

    In a recent letter to the editors of the New England Journal of
Medicine, three Italian doctors describe how they were able to reduce
patients' reported dyspepsia symptoms by more than half -  by
prescribing red pepper powder. In a study of 30 patients with
functional dyspepsia, half of the participants received a placebo,
while the other half took 2.5 grams of red pepper powder each day
(divided into capsules taken before each of three meals). Both groups
took their respective treatments for five weeks, and rated their
symptoms each day on a scale of zero  to three (higher scores
indicated more severe symptoms). By the third week, the red pepper
group showed a significant advantage over the control group. And by
week five, the pepper group's symptoms had declined 60 percent from
their baseline scores - while the control group's scores had only
decreased about half as much. The symptom scores included ratings for
pain, a feeling of fullness, nausea, and an overall score. The red
pepper powder produced significant gains in all four areas.
    

    Many herbalists believe that Cayenne is the most useful and
valuable herb in the herb kingdom, not only for the entire digestive
system, but also for the heart and circulatory system. It acts as a
catalyst and increases the effectiveness of other herbs when used with
them.

    Cayenne is a medicinal and nutritional herb.  It is a very high
source of Vitamins A and C, has the complete B complexes, and is very
rich in organic calcium and potassium, which is one of the reasons it
is good for the heart.

    Digestion

    Cayenne can rebuild the tissue in the stomach and the peristaltic
action in the intestines.  It aids elimination and assimilation, and
helps the body to create hydrochloric acid, which is so necessary for
good digestion and assimilation, especially of proteins.  All this
becomes very significant when we realize that the digestive system
plays the most important role in mental, emotional and physical
health, as it is through the digestive  system that the brain, glands,
muscles and every other part of the body are fed.

    Heart

    Cayenne has been known to stop heart attacks within 30 seconds.
For example, when a 90-year-old man in Oregon had a severe heart
attack, his daughter was able to get Cayenne extract into his mouth.
He was pronounced dead by the medics, but within a few minutes, he
regained consciousness.  On the way to the hospital, he remained in a
semi-conscious state, but the daughter kept giving him the Cayenne
extract.  By the time they got  to the hospital, he had fully
recovered and wanted to go home and mow the lawn.  The doctor asked
what she had given him, as he said it was the closest thing to a
miracle he had ever seen.

    If a heart attack should occur, it is suggested that a teaspoon of
extract be given every 15 minutes or a teaspoon of Cayenne in a glass
of hot water be taken until the crisis has passed.  Dr. Anderson also
knew of a  doctor who rushed out into the parking lot and put cayenne
tincture into the mouth of a man who had died of a heart attack while
he was parking his car.  Within a few minutes, the man's heart
starting beating again.

    According to Dr. Richard Anderson, using cayenne and hawthorn
berries together has a most incredible effect upon the heart.  He
believes that a regimen of cayenne and hawthorn berries for several
months will greatly  strengthen the heart, and possibly prevent heart
attacks.  He states further that if an attack were to occur in someone
who had followed this regimen, chances are very good that no damage
would occur.  He tells the  following story about his mother:

    “I had her taking hawthorn berries and cayenne when she had a
heart attack at the age of 79.  Her diet had not been the best, and
she was in an extremely stressful situation. While in the hospital,
they found three blocked arteries and wanted to operate immediately.
They did not think that she could survive for more than a few weeks if
they didn't operate.  (How many have heard that story!)  The doctors
thought it would be very risky to operate, but they had her there, and
there was a lot of money to be made.  So they decided to take some
tests in the hopes that they could find an excuse to operate.  In
spite of the fact that she had  been taking lots of aspirin for her
arthritis, smoked like she was the reincarnation of a boiler factory,
and had just had a heart attack, they found that her heart was
incredibly strong.  In fact, they felt that her heart  was stronger
than most people in their 30's!  The good news was that not only did
she survive the operation, but also she stopped smoking!  Well worth
the operation, don't you think? In my opinion, that was the best thing
the doctors ever did for her.  Well, that is what hawthorn and cayenne
can do for the heart, and every good herbalist knows it; every good
doctor should also know it, but very few do.”

    Emergencies

    It is a good idea to always have some Cayenne extract on hand for
emergencies.  Dr. Anderson carries capsules of cayenne with him in the
car and whenever he goes hiking, backpacking or mountain climbing.  He
says, “You never know when you may find someone having a heart attack
or some other emergency.”

    The following stories demonstrate only a few of the remarkable
emergency uses of cayenne.

    If a hemorrhage occurs in the lungs, stomach, uterus or nose, it
is suggested that a teaspoon of extract (or a teaspoon of cayenne
powder in a cup of hot water) be given every 15 minutes until the
crisis has passed. The bleeding should stop in 10-30 seconds.  The
reason for this is that rather than the blood pressure being
centralized, it is equalized by the Cayenne, and the clotting action
of the blood becomes more rapid.  For external bleeding, take cayenne
internally and pour cayenne directly on the wound.

    Dyspepsia

    In a double-blind study, 30 individuals with dyspepsia were given
either 2.5 grams daily of red pepper powder (divided up and taken
prior to meals) or placebo for 5 weeks. By the third week of
treatment, individuals taking red pepper were experiencing significant
improvements in pain, bloating, and nausea as compared to placebo, and
these relative improvement lasted through the end of the study.

    A placebo-controlled crossover study failed to find benefit, but
it only enrolled 11 participants, far too few to have much chance of
identifying a treatment effect.

    All double-blind studies of topical capsaicin (or cayenne) suffer
from one drawback: it isn't really possible to hide the burning
sensation that occurs during initial use of the treatment. For this
reason, such studies probably aren't truly double-blind. It has been
suggested that instead of an inactive placebo, researchers should use
some other substance (such as camphor) that causes at least mild
burning. However, such treatments might also have therapeutic
benefits; they have a long history of use for pain as well.

    Because of these complications, the evidence for topical
treatments cited below is less meaningful than it might at first appear.

    Pain

    Capsaicin cream is well established as a modestly helpful
pain-relieving treatment for post-herpetic neuropathy (the pain that
lingers after an attack of shingles) peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain
that occurs most commonly as a side effect of diabetes, but may occur
with HIV as well as other conditions), nerve pain after cancer surgery
and arthritis.

    Capsaicin instilled into the nose may be helpful for cluster
headache. (The fact that this has even been considered a viable
treatment option shows how painful cluster headaches can be!)

    Actual cayenne rather than capsaicin has been tested for pain as
well. A 3-week, double-blind trial of 154 individuals with back pain
found that cayenne applied topically as a plaster improved pain to a
greater extent than placebo.

    Skin Conditions

    A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of almost 200 individuals
found that use of topical capsaicin can improve itching as well as
overall severity of psoriasis. Benefits were also seen in a smaller
double-blind study of topical capsaicin for psoriasis.

    Topical capsaicin is thought to be helpful for various itchy skin
conditions, such as prurigo nodularis, but double-blind studies are
lacking. 

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