Who knew this little "hottie" was so amazing!?
If you say the word "cayenne" to my older kids, they will likely run away screaming "Nooooo!" I am an advocate for experimenting, but sometimes...they backfire. Then it becomes experience and you know better next time....hopefully.
My oldest son had an ingrown toenail for a long time. We did the surgery which helped for a few months until it grew back again. I tried to wrap all kinds of herbs around it and nothing seemed to help. I read an article that recommended using cayenne pepper. I thought, "Well, it might be hot, but we can sure try." So, we did it and he danced around and screamed and hollered. I felt bad so I did my best to fix it. I thought that it was yet another failure. A few weeks passed and it healed. We haven't had a problem with it since. So maybe it wasn't a "backfire"...it just felt like fire.
I have since learned a few things to make cayenne less scary for my kids - now my husband LOVES it. I made a pain relieving salve with it that he loves to have rubbed on his shoulders after a long hard day.
Did I say "pain relieving?"
Yep.
Cayenne has a component called "capsaicin" that is a pain reliever. Many peppers have it actually. It stimulates blood flow and can give temporary pain relief from:
- minor muscle aches
- long term arthritis joint pain
- backache
- strains and sprains
Here is the recipe for the Cayenne salve:
8 oz olive oil
1 oz powdered cayenne
1 oz powdered ginger
1 oz beeswax
Gently warm together oil, cayenne and ginger over LOW heat for 1 hour. D not boil. Strain the mixture with cheese cloth or kitchen towel (it will stain). Squeeze as much oil as possible out . Over a double boiler, heat beeswax to liquid and add cayenne oil mix well. Pour into a container and allow to cool.
When you're ready to use it, a little bit goes a long way. With that much cayenne it sounds like it will burn like crazy, but it gently warms. Keep in mind, do NOT rub your eyes after using a pain relieving salve...or open cuts because it will feel like you need a large dose from a firehose.
I read this story recently regarding another use for cayenne:
One person told how he had cut deeply with a sharp instrument the inside of his hand, fingers and palm. The blood spurted out in streams. He poured a large amount of cayenne pepper into the wound, and within seconds the blood flow slowed down to congealed dripping and the bleeding stopped entirely before many seconds had passed. With a goodly amount of cayenne covering the wound, he then wrapped it. He was so excited about the rapid results he could hardly wait for the regular herb meeting. But, as he said, the "punch line" was lost, because instead of a nasty ragged scar to show how severely he had been hurt, the area was healed and there was no scar.
Dang it! It healed the scar so he couldn't show it off. However, it did stop the bleeding immediately. That is worth having cayenne in your first aid kit.
Cayenne when used as a nutritional supplement and a spice might have a few more tricks up its sleeve.
- It may also be beneficial in weight loss efforts http://draxe.com/the-top-7-
fat-burning-foods/ - High blood pressure http://www.naturalnews.com/
030039_high_blood_pressure_ prevention.html - Stomach ulcers http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/
ART03201/Ulcers-Peptic-Ulcer- Disease-PUD.html - heart attacks
- cramps
- sore throats
- nosebleeds
- http://www.herballegacy.com/
Cayenne.html
Now that list, is amazing!
There are few things that are as controversial these days as what is "healthy to eat". Some avoid gluten, some avoid animal proteins, some avoid milk products, and the list goes on and on. Cayenne is something you can add to any diet and know you're doing the right thing (unless you have a rare allergy, then not so good). So pass this on to your friends and family because there can never be too much.
For previous Tips of the Week visit: http://www.
No comments:
Post a Comment