Hot red peppers aren’t just for spicy foods! Cayenne pepper has a host of medicinal uses, too.
Cayenne pepper is native to subtropical and tropical zones around the world — in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. The spice has probably been used for thousands of years! Explorer Christopher Columbus is the first Westerner credited with taking note of food flavored with hot red pepper. There isn’t much in the way of literary evidence of cayenne pepper; there is no word for cayenne in ancient tongues like Chinese, Latin, Sanskrit, and Hebrew. Perhaps the first appearance of hot red pepper in writing came in 1493 — herbs and spices were a booming market in those days.
Hot red peppers are in the same family of plants as the black pepper most people keep at the dinner table. Both types of pepper can make you sneeze, too!
Cayenne peppers have an amazing source of vitamins and minerals. Common paprika has the highest vitamin C content of all the hot red peppers. In mature cayenne peppers, you’ll find 369 milligrams of vitamin C per 3.5 ounces. Vitamin A content is also high in cayenne peppers. Hot red peppers also contain iron, potassium, and niacin.
Capsaicin is the active ingredient in hot red peppers. Internally and externally, it is a powerful stimulant. Folk medicine touts cayenne pepper (and the stimulating capsaicin) as a purge for the system, a fever medicine, and an internal disinfectant. Cayenne pepper can be used as a stimulant for chilled skin or a remedy for joint pain — the capsaicin slightly irritates the skin and increases blood flow to the area, relieving inflammation. Be careful; excessive contact can lead to some more serious skin irritation.
Cayenne pepper is also known as a digestive aid. The scent and taste can stimulate saliva and stomach acid production. A pinch of hot red pepper in normal cooking can help promote healthy digestion.
Not sure about the powers of pepper? My grandfather was on his deathbed (long before I was born). The doctor gave him twenty-four hours to live and told his brothers to give Pop-Pop whatever he wanted to eat. My grandfather requested an Italian sub and a jar of hot peppers. He sat up all night eating the jar of peppers… and in the morning, started to recover. As long as he lived, he ate hot red pepper on everything and told us that it had saved his life.