Cayenne Pepper June 19 2014

Cayenne pepper is an important spice, particularly in Cajun and Creole cooking, and in the cuisines of Southeast Asia, China, Southern Italy, and Mexico. Cayenne has also been used in traditional Indian Ayurvedic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean medicines as an oral remedy for stomach problems, poor appetite, and circulatory problems. It has also been applied to the skin for arthritis and muscle pain.
Today, ointments and creams with capsaicin are used in the United States and Europe to relieve pain from arthritis and shingles (Herpes zoster). Capsaicin is also a key ingredient in many pepper sprays.
Pain relief
Capsaicin has very powerful pain-relieving properties when applied to the skin. It reduces the amount of substance P, a chemical that carries pain messages to the brain, in your body. When there is less substance P, the pain messages no longer reach the brain, and you feel relief. Capsaicin is often recommended for the following conditions: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as joint or muscle pain from fibromyalgia or other causes Nerve pain from shingles and other painful skin conditions (postherpetic neuralgia) that happens even after the skin blisters have gone away. Research is mixed, and it may be that it works for some people and not others. Check with your doctor to see if trying capsaicin ointment is right for you. Pain after surgery, such as a mastectomy or an amputation Pain from nerve damage in the feet or legs from diabetes, called diabetic peripheral neuropathy. However, capsaicin doesn’t seem to work for peripheral neuropathy from HIV. Low back pain. Several studies suggest capsaicin cream can reduce lower back pain.
Source: Cayenne | University of Maryland Medical Center http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/cayenne#ixzz34GBBcnfX University of Maryland Medical Center Follow us: @UMMC on Twitter | MedCenter on Facebook
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