Cayenne Pepper Health Benefits

Cayenne pepper is a common food spice and a powerful herbal medicine. In fact, Dr. Richard Shulz has gone so far as to say “If you master only one herb in your life, master cayenne pepper. It is more powerful than anything else.” In this article, we will discuss the amazing healing benefits of cayenne pepper.

 

What Is Cayenne Pepper?

 

 

 

Cayenne peppers (Capsicum annuum) are peppers that belongs to the nightshade plant family Solanaceae. They are fairly spicy pepper due to the compound capsaicin. Cayenne peppers are actually a group of long, skinny, and mostly red peppers that grow in several varieties. Most cayenne pepper varieties have an average rating of 30,000 to 50,000 HU (Scoville heat units), which measures how much heat-generating capsaicin is present.

 

What Is Cayenne Pepper Used For?

 

Cayenne pepper is most commonly used as a culinary spice. It is widely used as a food spice in Mexican, Indian, Asian, and Southern cuisine, among others. Due to its high capsaicin content, a small amount of this pepper goes a long way. Cayenne has a unique ability to enhance the other flavors and spices in a dish, and for this reason, small amounts of it are commonly used in a variety of dishes.

 

Cayenne pepper is also used medicinally for a variety of functions. It helps to increase circulation, speed up metabolism, enhance lymphatic system health, boost immunity, fight off colds and infections, kills parasites, and has many other medicinal properties. It is truly a powerful herb, and is worthy of Dr. Shulz’s label of being a “master herb.”

 

Cayenne’s herbal actions are: stimulant, antimicrobial, analgesic, carminative, styptic, antioxidant, diaphoretic, expectorant, immunostimulant, and antifungal.

 

Some of its most common uses are for: headaches, toothaches, sore throats, fevers, heart disease, hypertension, hypotension, poor circulation, parasites, digestive problems, depression, low libido, bleeding, inflammation, arthritis, menstrual cramps, neuropathy, shingles, fungal infections, diabetes, and weight loss.

 

What Are the Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper?

 

What is cayenne pepper good for? A lot! Cayenne pepper health benefits are numerous. Below, we will share some of the top cayenne pepper benefits.

 

Cayenne Pepper May Boost Circulation

 

The phytochemical compound capsaicin in cayenne may help to boost circulation. Capsaicin has a unique ability to lower blood pressure and stimulate the release of compounds like nitric oxide that help to expand your blood vessels. These are known as vasodilators and can help improve blood flow, as they enable blood to flow more freely through your veins and arteries.

 

Cayenne pepper is a popular herb, and as such, has been researched extensively for its medicinal benefits. Research on cayenne pepper has found it effective for increasing circulation and for reducing the buildup of plaque in the arteries.

 

Cayenne pepper can be ingested internally for improving circulation, and can also be applied topically, usually as an ingredient in an ointment, for encouraging blood flow to a specific area.

 

Cayenne Pepper May Enhance Your Metabolism

 

 

Cayenne pepper may also be able to enhance your metabolism. Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions in the body's cells that change food into energy. It is a key part of the digestive process and helps our body get energy from food that we use to do everything that we do from moving and talking to thinking and growing.

 

A slow metabolism can cause you to burn fewer calories and may also lead to weight gain. Because of cayenne’s ability to enhance metabolism, it may also be helpful for weight-loss, helping you burn calories more efficiently. The spicy properties of cayenne may cause your body temperature to slightly rise, which may further help with burning calories as your body expends energy to cool you down.

 

Studies on cayenne pepper’s effect on metabolism have found that it increases metabolic rate for up to 30 minutes after consumption. This affects the rate at which food is converted to energy, so adding a little cayenne to your meal may help your body digest faster and more efficiently.

 

Cayenne Pepper May Enhance Lymphatic System Health

 

 

One of cayenne’s main herbal actions, and one of the actions that most herbalists use cayenne for, is its stimulant properties. Cayenne is a powerful stimulant. It is important to note that a “stimulant” in herbalism is different than a stimulant like caffeine or another stimulating chemical. Stimulants in herbalism are herbs that can stimulate, or enhance the function of, all of the body’s processes. In cayenne, this is largely attributed to its ability to improve circulation and blood flow, which may also make it helpful in herbal formulas for delivering the compounds in herbs throughout the body more effectively.

 

These stimulant properties, as mentioned, work on all the bodies systems, and one of the systems that it works on particularly well is the lymphatic system.

 

The lymphatic system is your body’s sewage system. It removes toxins, waste and pathogens from your body, protecting you from infections and diseases.

Unlike the circulatory system where the heart acts as the pump, the lymphatic system only moves in one direction—upward and away from gravity. As the lymph system tries to fight gravity, it can easily become clogged. In addition, poor diet, overexposure to toxins, lack of sleep, dehydration, stress, and a lack of movement can overload and block the lymphatic system.

If the lymphatic system is clogged, the immune system is compromised. Toxins build up in the body. The body’s organs and tissues get inflamed. And chronic Inflammation is linked to many major diseases including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and more.

 

The lymphatic system depends on other things to help it drain like movement, deep breathing, diet, and herbs. Cayenne is a powerful herb for stimulating movement in the lymphatic system. This is why we added it as one of the primary ingredients in our Lymphatic Detox Tonic.

 

Through the extraction of key clinically-studied herbs, our Lymphatic Detox Tonic may help to promote lymphatic drainage, help clear blockages in the lymphatic system, and support the removal of waste and toxins from the body.

 

Cayenne Pepper May Boost Immunity

 

 

Another great property of cayenne pepper is its ability to improve immune system health in a variety of ways. For one, the enhanced circulation and the stimulant properties that enhance organ function can give your body an extra boost, helping it function more efficiently. These properties can increase the speed of immune cells getting transported to sites of infection.

 

Additionally, cayenne pepper has strong antimicrobial, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic properties that can help your body fight off harmful pathogens. Because of these properties, cayenne is a great herbal ally to use against a variety of infections, from the common cold or flu to parasitic infections  or Candida overgrowth.

 

Cayenne Pepper Contains Important Nutrients

 

Cayenne pepper, in addition to having powerful medicinal plant compounds, contains numerous essential nutrients as well. Cayenne peppers are particularly rich in vitamins C, A, B6 and K, all of which are essential to get in the diet.

 

These nutrients are quite concentrated in cayenne. Just one fresh cayenne pepper contains approximately 72% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C and 50% of the recommended daily amount vitamin A.

 

Cayenne Pepper May Improve Heart Health

 

 

Cayenne peppers can protect heart health in several ways. It is no surprise that the improved blood flow and expanding of blood vessels is part of the reason cayenne is so helpful for heart health. However, cayenne may also lower inflammation in the body. Inflammation plays a role in many different diseases, including heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States.

 

Cayenne pepper can lower inflammation levels in the body, keep blood vessels healthy, and may even help to lower blood pressure. Together, these properties make cayenne a wonderful herb for improving heart health and protecting the body from heart disease—as well as other diseases caused by high levels of inflammation in the body.

 

Cayenne Pepper May Improve Joint Health

 

 

Because of cayenne pepper’s ability to fight inflammation and improve blood flow, it may be beneficial for improving joint health. In addition to supporting joint health internally, cayenne may be applied topically to painful joints or muscles to relieve pain and increase blood flow to that area. For anyone suffering from joint pain, taking cayenne internally, as well as applying a pain-relieving cream containing cayenne topically, may help to reduce joint pain and improve joint health.

 

What Are the Active Compounds in Cayenne Pepper?

 

The health benefits of medicinal plants are largely attributed to the biochemical compounds within them. Cayenne peppers most notable medicinal compound is capsaicin. However, cayenne also contains other benefical plant compouns such as a variety of carotenoids, including capsanthin, capsorubin, beta-carotene, cryptoxanthin, lutein, phytofluene, and xanthophyll, as well as plant steroids, including capsicoside.

 

Are There Any Side Effects to Taking Cayenne Pepper?

 

Cayenne pepper has been used safely as a medicinal herb and culinary spice for centuries. It is safe to consume, however, due to its intense heat, it may cause some discomfort when consumed in excess, such as upset stomach, heartburn, runny nose, watering eyes, and burning sensation in the mouth. Eating cayenne in food is also considered safe during pregnancy, but it is recommended for pregnant women to avoid taking cayenne as a supplement.

 

Summary

 

Cayenne pepper is a common food spice and a powerful herbal medicine. Cayenne peppers (Capsicum annuum) are peppers that belongs to the nightshade plant family Solanaceae. They are fairly spicy pepper due to the compound capsaicin. Most cayenne pepper varieties have an average rating of 30,000 to 50,000 HU (Scoville heat units), which measures how much heat-generating capsaicin is present.

 

Cayenne pepper is most commonly used as a culinary spice. It is widely used as a food spice in Mexican, Indian, Asian, and Southern cuisine, among others. Due to its high capsaicin content, a small amount of this pepper goes a long way.

 

Cayenne pepper is also used medicinally for a variety of functions. Cayenne’s herbal actions are: stimulant, antimicrobial, analgesic, carminative, styptic, antioxidant, diaphoretic, expectorant, immunostimulant, and antifungal.

 

Some of its most common uses are for: headaches, toothaches, sore throats, fevers, heart disease, hypertension, hypotension, poor circulation, parasites, digestive problems, depression, low libido, bleeding, inflammation, arthritis, menstrual cramps, neuropathy, shingles, fungal infections, diabetes, and weight loss.

 

As a popular herb and spice, cayenne has been studied extensively. Research on cayenne has revealed many benefits, including improving circulation, metabolism, lymphatic circulation, immunity, heart health and joint health, among other benefits.

 

Many of these medicinal properties are attributed to cayenne’s capsaicin content, but cayenne contains other compounds as well such as a variety of carotenoids, including capsanthin, capsorubin, beta-carotene, cryptoxanthin, lutein, phytofluene, and xanthophyll, as well as plant steroids, including capsicoside.

 

Cayenne pepper is safe to use, however, due to its intense heat, it may cause some discomfort when consumed in excess, such as upset stomach, heartburn, runny nose, watering eyes, and burning sensation in the mouth.

 

If you are considering using cayenne as a supplement, consider talking with your doctor first to see if this supplement is right for you and the condition you are considering using it for.

 

 

 

 

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6273101/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4477151/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5426284/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6000222/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4893589/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4267963/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6088424/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6272969/