cayenne

[pauleo]

old but interesting article
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=62941

[knightfree]

Thanks for the link Pauleo.
I think I first heard about this from the book, You: On a Diet by Drs. Oz and Roizen. Maybe they got their info. from this study-(I didn't check their source).

[Drew31]

I have been a long time proponent of hot peppers and their powdered counterpart. I use hot sauce and fresh peppers all the time as they have a very positive effect on cholesterol and heart health, plus I like my food spicy!!!! I was not aware of the insulin benefits, though. Good to know.

[lfchanin]

old but interesting article
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=62941

Hi Paul,

Capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers spicey, may indirectly lead to a breakthrough "cure" for diabetes. Apparently Capsaicin, causes the body to release an other compound called Substance P which can anesthetize nerves. A new theory regarding the cause of diabetes speculates that the disease is actually caused by over-active nerves in the pancreas. In diabetics the sensory nerves in the pancreas trigger too easily causing too much insulin, which in turn leads to insulin resistance, and eventually the death of beta cells. Injecting Substance P directly to the pancreas of diabetic mice "cured" them almost immediately and in some cases this reversal lasted months.

Here's some related articles:

Breakthrough sheds light on cause of diabetes (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn10812)

Capsaicin (http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/article.cfm?aid=902)

Larry

[mathmaniac]

I'm glad to see this thread. I just read an interview with Killer Kowalski, the wrestler, in Esquire. He takes cayenne every day. But I think he cites the benefit that it combats inflammation.

[pauleo]

Very interesting. I have read that cayenne is well-known in traditional medicine for various things, including reviving heart attack victims. I guess it's the herbalist's equivalent of defibrillation! If anyone else has been looking for reading matter about herbs and spices like me, I just found a book called The Green Pharmacy with great reviews at Amazon. Waiting for my copy now.

[Cajunboy47]

suggestion:

Everyone should carry a bottle of tobasco sauce with them at all times, with an arm band that says; "if found unconscious, please pour the sauce down my throat to revive me.

Being raised in southwest Louisiana, having eaten raw cayenne peppers, used cayenne peppers on every kind of food imaginable, I am not so excited about its potential benefits. If it was all that great, I should be one of the healthiest people around, and that just isn't so... :)

But, that article is a great marketing tool to increase sales....