By Valerie Wilson
That bright red, hot spicy herb, cayenne pepper, has amazing healing properties. It is a blood stimulant, it moves blood, and where you stimulate and move blood, you start to stimulate healing in the body. And if you use Cayenne with any other herb, it will increase the effectiveness of the herb. The capsaicin in the Cayenne holds almost all the healing properties, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and high in antioxidants.
Capsaicin helps protect the heart, can help rebuild heart tissue, opens capillaries to increase blood flow throughout the body, and helps thin the blood and seal bleeding blood vessels inside the body. It is a natural vascular dilator that expands blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure. It can also help reverse excessive blood clotting.
For digestion, if Cayenne is eaten or taken regularly, it helps release more gastric juice, stimulating appetite and enhancing metabolism. It also will bring up low hydrochloric acid for optimal digestion. It is also a natural painkiller for gut problems. With its ability to stop bleeding both externally and internally, it will help heal an ulcer.
Cayenne can also help with sinus problems and infections. Once again, capsaicin comes to the rescue by aiding in thinning the mucus and stimulating the sinus, bringing air circulation and relief from the sinus infection. Cayenne can also treat bronchitis, laryngitis, and sore throat.
If you still need to be impressed enough by Cayenne, it also has anti-cancer properties. It can help reduce the spread of cancer cells and has anti-invasive and anti-migratory properties in cancer research. Cayenne can stop cancer cells from traveling across the body and induces apoptosis, which is the death of cancer cells.
Those are all health benefits from ingesting Cayenne, and there are external benefits also. It brings blood to an area and stimulates healing to start taking place. If you have no feeling in your feet or extremities or have neuropathy in your feet, a cayenne poultice can help. To make the poultice, take a cloth (the size of the area you want to cover), spread some olive or castor oil on the cloth, and then sprinkle the cayenne powder over the oil (the oil will help the cayenne powder stick to the cloth). Use approx—½ tsp. Cayenne for every foot spread out on the cloth. Place the poultice on the affected area, cover it with plastic wrap, and then cover it with a cloth (if it is a foot you are treating with the poultice, you can put a sock over the poultice). Doing this at night is best, and then keeping it wrapped overnight. The area will start to get warm and may tingle; that is, the blood coming to the area to heal the situation. This poultice can also be used for an underactive thyroid gland.
When buying Cayenne, it should be bright red in color. If it is brown, it means it is old. Cayenne is not chili powder. Cayenne is in the capsaicin family, not the chili family. Cayenne is a lot hotter to the taste also. If you can not handle the heat of the Cayenne, you can take capsules to get the healing benefits.
Ways to use Cayenne to heal:
– You can use it in your cooking and to season food. A little bit goes a long way in the heat it imparts into your dish. To get the health benefits, you would need to use it regularly on your food.
– Add a dash of Cayenne to a cup of hot tea or hot water.
– You can add a dash of Cayenne to hot water with lemon.
– You can add a dash to any smoothie you create.
– You can add a dash to the hot chocolate or coffee you drink.
– For sinus problems, a more potent drink (if you can handle the heat) ¼ tsp. Cayenne in a cup of hot water.
