Cayenne pepper: It'll Get The Blood Flowing.
 (Read 250+ times)
By Glory Lennon
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Whether you know it as Chili Pepper, Louisiana longs, African, Hot, Tabasco, Bird, Guinea or Cayenne Pepper this spicy hot herb will not evade your notice once you taste it. A tiny bit sprinkled on your food will make you sit up and take notice but too much and you might run for the hills in search of a powerful waterfall to quench the fire. Of course, varying taste being as it is, some folks can stand to eat a whole spoonful without flinching while others faint from the minutest bit. It is, indeed an acquired taste. (A little tip for those not used to the hot spice; crackers, milk and bread work to get that burning feeling off your tongue much better than water.)
Botanically Red Pepper, or Cayenne as some still insist on calling it, is known as Capsicum Annum. It is a member of the Solanaceae family which include other much more bland cousins like potato, tomato, eggplant and tobacco. It grows very much like its milder relation the Bell Pepper, in relatively small, bushy plants which love the heat of summer, rich, porous soil, ample water and lots and lots of sun. They are quite easy to grow though in colder regions it is advisable to start the seeds indoors several weeks before the last frost date in order to give them enough time to produce the vital fruits and allow them to ripen on the vine. This helps improve their potency.
Why would you want to improve their potency? Well, it just so happens that Red Pepper has many medicinal uses. It can help in relieving chronic pain such as arthritis, Diabetic burning foot syndrome, cluster headaches, shingles, aids digestion and relieves sore throats and infectious diarrhea. There are even a few studies suggesting Red Pepper may be found to help lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. With all this going for it, you can see it has earned a spot in the medicinal herb garden.
What is not commonly known is Red Pepper also helps improve blood flow in the body. Used both internally and externally, Red Pepper opens up the blood vessels to allow more blood to flow freely. This in turn helps you stay warm in winter, helps the heart work more efficiently and in the case of those with diabetes where wounds take so long to heal, prevents gangrene which can make necessary the amputation of feet and legs. People living in the coldest places of the world have been using Red Pepper for hundreds of years to prevent frostbite either by placing some into their socks or rubbing it directly on their feet before getting on the boots.
For those who constantly complain about cold feet, nose and hands, using Red Pepper on their food can eliminate this problem without resorting to sprinkling it into their shoes. How much depends on your taste buds. The more you use the better your blood will flow. Starting out slowly is advisable for those who simply are not used to spicy hot foods in general. A tiny bit sprinkled onto food would do nicely as a start and eventually you may be able to increase the amount for further improvement. Some people have added Red Pepper to herbal teas or to beef consume and take this before meals which serves two purposes. The first is as an aid to digestion and to help give you a fuller feeling before you partake of the main meal which in turn my help you lose weight. The second is to get you warmed up quickly as only a soothing herbal teas can do. Adding to it the hot Red Pepper will only give an extra boost to your circulatory system. Those toes and fingers will start warming up sooner than you can imagine.
Now that you are armed with all this information about the lovely and wonderful Red Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Chili Pepper or whatever you want to call it, you can better your health and while you’re at it add a bit of spice to your life. Not bad for something you probably already have in your spice rack.
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Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 visit http://www.helium.com/user/32782 for more amazing garden lessons, cute short stories and funny novel excerpts.
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