Posts Tagged ‘cayenne pepper’

Some Like it Hot

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

Even though your tolerance for hot and spicy may be limited, the benefits of using cayenne pepper as a home herbal remedy are great. Cayenne pepper is popular in many food dishes including chili. Recently, cayenne pepper can be found as an ingredient in gourmet chocolates, giving the chocolate a spicy, smoky flavor.

The benefits of using cayenne pepper are many. Cayenne pepper has been used to promote circulation of blood to extremities. This is good for people who often have cold hands and feet. Cayenne pepper also is known for preventing blood platelets from sticking together. Additionally, as can be seen from eating a too hot buffalo wing or salsa, cayenne pepper also induces sweating. This helps to raise the body temperature as well as drain mucus membranes.

The ingredient behind the hot and spicy attributes of cayenne is capsaicin. This compound works well as a muscle and joint rub. It is extremely important to use caution with cayenne pepper as it causes irritation to skin and eyes.

Even though cayenne pepper can be found in a diet pill and other weight-loss supplements, it is unlikely to help you lose weight. Nevertheless, cayenne pepper may support your diet and exercise efforts for other reasons. Research shows that it aids in digestion and absorption of nutrients. Like hoodia gordonii, cayenne pepper can suppress appetite that is due to poor absorption of nutrients, especially with overweight people.

 













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