Cayenne pepper is a lot more than just a hot herb

Wednesday, May 01, 2013 by: P. Simard
Tags: cayenne pepper, capsaicin, heart health

(NaturalNews) Cayenne pepper may not be overwhelmingly used in America but it certainly deserves to be given a lot more attention considering the many health benefits associated to eating it. This very spicy herb has many advantages such as helping the cardiovascular system; preventing stomach ulcers; aiding the digestive tract and fighting against inflammation, just to name a few.

Cayenne pepper owes its given name to a town in French Guiana where it is cultivated. It's a hot chilli pepper from the capsicum family, related to bell peppers, jalapenos and paprika. The plants are no more than four feet tall and generally grown in a tropical environment, as they require a moist and warm soil for optimal results. These grown peppers turn out to be very rich in nutrients and they are an excellent source of vitamins, more specifically vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin, vitamin B6 and vitamin K.

It offers a boost to circulation and energizes your heart

Dr. John Christopher, a well regarded herbalist, used to say that giving a teaspoon of cayenne pepper mixed with a glass of warm water could instantly rescue a patient from an ongoing heart attack. Mr. Christopher was a first-hand eye witness to the empowering effects cayenne pepper would generate to a weakened and damaged heart. You can read more on such claims in his book called School of Natural Healing.

It is known that cultures regularly consuming cayenne pepper present fewer cases of heart problems. Besides lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels, it also helps dissolving excessive blood clots forming in the circulatory system. Cayenne pepper normalizes blood pressure as it feeds the veins, capillaries and arteries. It basically rejuvenates the cardiovascular system and allows it to regain some much needed elasticity.

Cayenne pepper contains a component known as capsaicin which neutralizes what is referred to substance P, a neuropeptide linked to the cause of inflammation in the body. The highest content of capsaicin can be found in the hottest forms of chilli peppers, cayenne pepper being amongst these along with others such as habanero and scotch bonnet.

Stomach ulcers may very well be prevented by the resulting actions of the hot peppers once they reach the intestinal flora. They tend to invigorate the present cells, all while killing the intrusive bacteria in the intestinal tract. Overall, cayenne pepper promotes the effective assimilation and elimination of ingested substances.

In a very interesting article posted in Reuters on March 16, 2006, researchers had discovered that the capsaicin found in cayenne pepper had the ability to make prostate cancer cells kill themselves about 80 percent of the time. The research conducted on mice also showed that cancer tumors in capsaicin-fed mice, were on average only a fifth the size of the ones that were not given the cayenne pepper component.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.cayennepepper.info/health-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper.html

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=140

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayenne_pepper

About the author:
After spending several years working in property management, P. Simard is now focusing on being a naturopath in Quebec.