Cayenne Pepper
Health Benefits

Cayenne Pepper Health: Immune Boost, Pain Relief, and More

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
High Blood Pressure
Posted by MIKI (HOUSTON, TX) on 07/23/2007
★★★★★

I began reading about cayenne pepper and acv after realizing the pills i take for my heart, high bp, circulation and high colesterol were not working. B4 i started drinking the cayenne pepper tea i could not walk a half a block. Now, i can walk for one mile and my leg does not hurt. I have had heart attack, two leg by-pass surgeries. My energy level is great and I just can't believe my leg does not hurt. I also went to the doctor after not taking my bp medicine for 5 days and drinking the tea 2-3 times a day. Usually if i go that long w/out my medicine, my bp is sky high. This time my bp was norman. I mean normal. I was amazed. I still take my fluid pill to release those fluids but I feel great. thx ever so much


Wounds
Posted by Sue (Montreal, Canada) on 08/10/2007
★★★★★

Hello everyone. This is what I know about cayenne pepper... big zero except that my husband shaves his head and one time he cut himself and like most guys was walking around with a little piece of toilet paper on his head. I remembered reading that cayenne was not only good For my spaguetti sauce but if you apply it to a cut it stopped the bleeding. He did that and it stopped. Another time he did it again and used the cayenne right away and it worked. I don't think I would try it on a deep cut but I know it works on a cut when shaving. Again, I must say this site is really interesting and well made. Sue


Broad Benefits
Posted by Samantha (Portland, Oregon) on 10/17/2007
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I found cayenne a great cure for pretty much everything some time ago. It wasn't long ago that I came down with a bad sinus infection, cough, and fatigue. I decided to boil water on the stove, and add cayenne (open 3 capsules and pour them in), crushed garlic (4 cloves), half an onion, and grated ginger. THIS COMBINATION IS AMAZING. It is SO powerful. The most vital ingredients are the cayenne and garlic, but the onion and ginger are also very helpful. Make sure and boil everything until the onion is mushy, and the garlic is too. Keep a lid on, but every so often inhale the steam from the boiling remedy.. very soothing! Pour it into a glass and drink the whole thing. It is very potent, so what I do is add honey to it and it really tastes like liquid food- like a soup base or something.

Another remedy that I use is cayenne tea- just put a tea bag of your favorite tea in boiling water, and add a capsule of cayenne & some honey. Since I have been using cayenne in tea, and orally, and drinking the onion ginger garlic tincture, I rarely get sick.. and when I do, I can kick it within 3 days maximum.

Cayenne is also extremely helpful for menstrual cramps.

Mood Enhancer
Posted by Lisa (Newton, MA) on 10/18/2007
★★★★★

Hi, I started to put a bit of Cayenne pepper, along with some lemon juice into my morning tea, as an immune booster, but, I must say, I have found that I have been in an extremely energetic and jovial mood. I had not noticed this until yesterday, my 3rd day doing this regimen---just thought I would share.


High Blood Pressure
Posted by Boyd (Manchester, New Hampshire) on 11/04/2007
★★★★★

I had high blood pressure 165 over 100 i started taking the cayenne pepper pills from gnc 6 pills a day and the same day after taking the pills my blood pressure was 130 over 74 and now after 2 months of taking 2 cayenne pepper pills a day and 1 hawthron pill a day my blood pressure stays 130 over 71 hawthron and cayenne works both are pills at gnc


Euphoria
Posted by Sharon (Boston, MA) on 11/06/2007
★★★★★

I just discovered that ACV, baking soda, and cayenne produces an almost instantaneous state of euphoria! I have been taking acv for years, more recently acv and baking soda, but never with the cayenne. I always felt very energized from acv, but didn't feel like it was adjusting my brain chemistry. This remedy does. This is going to sound strange, but it makes me feel closer to God. I don't know how else to explain the sensation.

This is what I do:
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar,
1/8th teaspoon of baking soda and
5 shakes of cayenne pepper
in a glass of hot water.

Be careful not to stand too close to the glass after adding the cayenne or you will inhale it, especially once those acv and baking soda bubbles get activated. Sip slowly, stirring the cayenne every so often. When the drink cools down, add more hot water. Drink on an empty stomach, if possible. I usually take it in the late afternoon, when I am feeling sleepy.

I hope others will try it to and let me know if they are experiencing the same results.


Cayenne Side Effects
Posted by Gulay Ersoz (Los Angeles, CA) on 11/11/2007

I have been taking one cayenne pepper pill a day with warm lemonade in the mornings for the last 2 weeks or so. I experience slight heartburn like feeling but it was not a big problem. Two days ago, I took two pills instead of one, and it was no more than 3 minutes after I swallowed the pills, I had the extreme cramping in my stomach, became very dizzy, my left arm was hurting and I felt tingling on my fingers and legs... Not only the pain was extremely bad, my head was spinning, I was having hard time walking in my kitchen. I was hot, I just wanted to stop the cramping and managed to throw up. Took two Tums... With the hyper ventilation and dizziness, I laid in the bath tub and turned the cold water on, (I was so out of it and unable to control my reflexes, I couldn't even take my clothes off) it took about another 10-15 minutes before the pain went away, and I actually managed to get up and walk around... I called my doctor friend and she asked me if I experienced chest pain, I said no. Other than that I had all the symptoms of a heart attack. Went to see a doctor, and after the EKG, I was told that I had a bad reaction to cayenne pepper. It was not a joking matter for me, as I was home alone with my 3 year old sleeping in her bed, I had to have a reality check. How healthy is it to be trying to be healthy???

Broad Benefits
Posted by Rani (Brookville, Ohio) on 11/29/2007
★★★★★

I will have to try the ACV, but I have found cayenne to be fantastic for many things. Energy definitely. And also good for colds and sinus. For really bad colds and sinus, I like to mix, garlic, cayenne, lemon juice, a little honey and a little orange juice with some boiling water and it does miracles!!


Prevents Colds and Flu
Posted by Barbara (Baltimore, MD) on 12/26/2007
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

From infancy through childhood, teenage years, young and middle adulthood I have always been blessed with excellent health -- with one exception: I suffered from one cold and sore throat after another.

While none ever progressed to pneumonia, I would recover from one and then two weeks later feel the start of the next cold. Yet I have never smoked and have had excellent health habits.

For whatever reason, about 15 years ago I started to take 2-4 cayenne pepper capsules a day. A miracle occurred. Since then, I rarely contract a cold -- maybe one a year and not as severe as the ones I used to experience.

I can't laud the properties of cayenne enough. Be sure to swallow the capsule with enough liquid and you'll have no uncomfortable effect.


Cayenne Tips
Posted by Blue1965 (Stafford, Virginia) on 12/28/2007

To remove the burning from your mouth after using cayenne pepper or chilli pepper,take a slice of bread and push it down on your tongue & the roof of your mouth.The pepper grounds stick to the bread and come right off the skin inside of the mouth.You might have to move the bread around to get it all but it stops the burning.


Ulcers
Posted by Lisa (Southeast, USA) on 01/02/2008
★★★★★

12 years ago I finally got healed of an ulcer for which I'd been taking medication for several years. So when I recently began having that telltale burning, gnawing pain in my stomach, I knew exactly what was happening.

I also knew the whole routine...doctor's appointment, upper GI, ultrasound etc etc., just to have them tell me what I already knew. PLUS, they'd prescribe medications which my insurance will no longer cover because there are now non-prescription strengths of them available over-the-counter. Needless to say, I was willing to try an alternative method to save myself the time and expense. If you've ever had an ulcer, you usually don't have to have someone tell you what one feels like.

Anyway, I read somewhere about cayenne's healing effects. A week ago, I was up and down through the night with that burning, and all the antacids I could chew were simply giving me no relief. So Thursday morning I got up, got brave, and mixed a full measuring teaspoon of cayenne pepper into a teacup of very warm water and drank it down on an empty stomach.

It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected! And while I was warm all over and my stomach burned a little more when the fluid first hit that spot, the pain quickly diminished. Within minutes, I felt better than I had the day before, and as the day wore on, I continued to feel even better.

Anyway, I've repeated this every day now for the past week, and by day 3 the burning pain in my stomach was COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY GONE, even first thing in the morning. I'm continuing the regimen for therapeutic and preventive purposes, just to see if it cures my allergies and other problems. I'll probably reduce the daily dosage now that the stomach problem has subsided, but I'm a believer! And I'm a lifelong advocate of that little red pepper...this is news worth sharing!

Thank God for natural remedies...


Wounds
Posted by Helen (NY, NY) on 01/08/2008
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

A year ago my husband had one too many drinks, and tripped and fell hard backwards onto a sharp edge of a railing, which split open the back of his head. The wound was three inches long, and so deep....I was afraid to look at first, for fear that he had cracked his skull and would slip into an unconscious state. We were living on a remote island in the Bahamas at this time with no emergency people on hand, certainly no doctors or health care providers. A helicopter typically took 45mins to get you to a hospital.( If the last emergency was anything to go by) So I pulled myself together and instructed my eight year old son to keep Daddy awake by talking to him, no matter what! I tore my kitchen cupboards apart looking for the magical pepper I had read so much about year or two earlier.

I finally found the small bottle of cayenne pepper. I figured the whole bottle should slow the bleeding in time to find help.

Well.... not only did it STOP the bleeding, but after holding the wound together and having my son tip the entire contents of the bottle onto my husbands head the wound looked as though it was starting to stick together like glue! We sat holding the wound together for a further few hours for good measure, Then used thin strips of tape across it to act like stitches.

My son and I took turns waking my husband through the night, about every half hour to check he was ok, and to make sure the wound hadn't started bleeding again. To our amazement not only was there no pain after the first hour, but the burning sensation was very mild considering the depth of the cut.

The following day no one on the island would believe how bad the wound had been, and certainly felt there was no need to rush to the hospital.

Two days later we took the tape off. The wound had sealed with no infection, only a big orange crust from the cayenne pepper!

A further five days later, my husband had a shower and washed off the crust to reveal a lond thin line that looked like an old cat scratch!

To this day no one understands my decision to trust the magic of cayenne pepper. All I can say is........ we had no choice!

What a blessing to discover something so powerful.

I know it will travel with me every where I go for the rest of my life! And people often ask why I take strange capsules filled with red stuff.. I just smile......if only they knew!
Helen.
NYC


Circulation
Posted by John (Panama City, FL) on 01/20/2008
★★★★★

Anyone looking to keep their feet warm - sprinkle cayenne in your socks. It DOES work. However, DIABETICS BE WARNED: you should be careful using any topical treatment which provides heat, be it medicinal or homeopathic (this includes cayenne, IcyHot or similar items, electric heating pads, etc.).

Because diabetics often suffer from poor circulation and skin issues, using such items can produce burning, and since diabetics often do not heal as quickly, this can become a serious medical issue.

Heart Issues
Posted by Jenny (Atlanta) on 01/25/2008
★★★★★

My husband used to take cayenne every morning and never got colds flu or any sicknesses. Cayenne is good for the heart, circulation etc and he got it from the Native Americans who take the extra strength (heat) powder and have a lot less heart problems. We used to make a shake every morning with cayenne, carrot ,celery, garlic and ginger. I can't say it tasted very good but he downed about a pint. Paradoxically he then stopped off at 711 for a flavored coffee -- ugh!

Cayenne Tips
Posted by Brittany (Lake Wylie, South Carolina) on 03/02/2008

I actually haven't tried the cayenne pepper yet, but am sure it will work. I'm more concerned with what people are using to take the heat away afterwards... You should use sugar. It absorbs the heat. Bread probably works too, but not as much. Milk, just like water, spreads it around even more and will probably upset your stomach, especially if you try lemon with any of the remedies. So bottom line, use sugar not milk or water.


Broad Benefits
Posted by John (New Zealand) on 03/04/2008
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

This is my account of why cayenne pepper 150,000 - 300,000 BTU's kills the flu virus in significant numbers within 20 minutes, and with the use of activated powdered charcoal, is able to continue to do this, yet without hardly any hint of a burning sensation while yet maintaining the same power to kill the flu virus, as though one had taken the same amount of cayenne without the charcoal.

It is one thing to know that powerful cayenne tincture or powder is sudden death to the flu virus that attacks so many tens of millions or more times a year around the globe, but just as vital is that mixing of it in a ratio of at least 1cayenne:4charcoal making this remedy available to everyone other than the "super human's" that only could prefer the hot mix to the flu symptoms, besides, those kind of freaks of nature are unlikely to succumb to the flu anyway, so you can see how important the inclusion of charcoal is, if the remedy is to be of any use to the average person that has too much apprehension of the burn to take it in sufficient quality and quantity to kill the flu virus.

Fact one is merely a matter of observance: That if one is fortunate enough to be in a position to take at least one heap teaspoon of African Bird's Eye pepper (good quality and condition that is), and it has been mixed with at least four equally heaped teaspoons of activated powdered charcoal, and even better, had at least one to four spoonfuls of powdered barley green added (making sure that there is enough water in the mix to make a watery slurry rather than a paste, because this is to be drunk not eaten), that aesthetically removes the grittiness and helps lessen the need for as much charcoal, if it has been obviously a flu virus, the headache and fever symptoms drop off 100%, with loose stools possibly remaining, for 3-7 days but more in the case of the less serious flues. It seems, to my experience, that the more deadly flues have been the easiest to kill. Like the common cold the milder and more common varieties seem to cause diarrhea (although losing headache and fever just as quickly, as the more serious strains).

Fact two is: Anyone denying this assertion, while at the same time not supplying a better account, for why this observable fact one occurred, is telling us more about themselves (and the insufficient way that they view the world) rather than truthfully disproving the efficiency of cayenne and charcoal to painlessly and healthfully solve a very uncomfortable problem with horrible headaches, fever and loss of work time either in the work force, home care or the school attendance.

Just think of the number of hours lost to a nation's economy from all of the strains of the flu virus alone let alone other possible "bugs" that this remedy could also deal to.

One I know for sure is pneumonia, which I think is bacillus. I think that it is unacceptable that there is many container loads of the best quality African Bird's Eye cayenne in the pods still exported from Africa at around $4/kilo, making $70,000 a container, to disappear into the confusion of middlemen, certainly never to be seen in health shops or such like where it can save lives more than as bottled hot chilli sauce or something useless like that.

Feel free to post anything that I say at any time. Like Martin Luther, I am prepared to stand for what I believe in and be honest enough to put it to any test, while assuming responsibility to either defeat all comers or admit if someone can really show me where I am wrong.



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