News

Sports

Business

Entertainment

GhanaWeb TV

Africa

Opinions

Country

Health Benefits of Bird/Cayenne Pepper

Mon, 7 Mar 2011 Source: Teacher Baffour

Dried Bird Pepper can be bought from any local market in Ghana. Cayenne pepper powder comes from red-hot chili peppers that are not only good to eat but also are great for your health. Where does cayenne come from? The fruit or body of the peppers are dried then ground down, pulped and baked into cakes, which are then sifted to make the spice known as cayenne pepper. In case you may be slightly confused, red-hot chili peppers are sometimes referred to as "cayenne peppers" as well.

So, why is cayenne pepper so great for your health? What are its great health benefits? The health benefits of cayenne pepper are far reaching and astounding. So much so that many think its benefits are exaggerated.

Consider this: cayenne pepper, through the instrumentality of its secondary metabolite capsaicin (pronounced cap-say-sin), is scientifically proven to kill prostate cancer cells, among other fantastic health benefits, and that is just the beginning as to the benefits of this humble, nondescript herb.

Much scientific research has been initiated to validate what (Herbal Doctors) (Real Fetish Practitioners) naturopathic practitioners have known for years: It can stop heart attacks, nourish the heart with vital nutrients, removes plaque from the arteries, help rebuild flesh destroyed or harmed by frostbite, heal hemorrhoids, re-build stomach tissue, heal stomach ulcers, fortify your overall health, and mitigate the most wrenching of diseases.

It improves circulation, rebuilds blood cells, Lowers Cholesterol, emulsifies triglycerides, removes toxins from the bloodstream and improves overall heart health. It's even a great insect repellent.

As mentioned, it can also heal ulcers, which seems contradictory considering its native calidity or heat. It immediately equalizes blood pressure in your system, shrinks hemorrhoids, and heals the gall bladder too.

It can be used as a Diuretic as well helping in elimination both with urine and with built-up fecal matter in the intestines.

How does diuretics work?

Thiazides, loop diuretics and potassium-sparing diuretics all work on the kidneys.

Your kidneys have a network of tubes that make urine by filtering your blood in two stages. In the first stage, water, salt and waste products such as urea are filtered out from your blood, leaving behind red and white blood cells. A lot of nutrients and other essential substances also leave your blood at this stage.

In the second stage, your kidneys re-absorb these nutrients and essential substances back into the blood. This leaves waste products, plus some salt and water (urine) in your kidneys. The urine travels down tubes to your bladder where it's stored until you go to the toilet.

Heart failure can make your kidneys re-absorb more water and salt into the blood, and so produce less urine. This is your body's way of trying to compensate for the reduced pumping power of the heart, but it can make matters worse. There is a greater volume of blood for your heart to pump, and so more work for it to do. Also, excess water in the blood can leak out into your lungs, making you feel breathless (pulmonary oedema) and into the legs causing your ankles and feet to swell up (peripheral oedema).

Diuretics reduce the amount of water and salt that is re-absorbed by your kidneys. So, more water and salt passes out with the waste products into your urine. This means that you make more urine and so lose more water from your blood. The overall volume of blood is reduced, which gives your heart less work to do and helps to reduce your blood pressure. This is why diuretics are used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure.

Because loop diuretics can cause blood potassium levels to fall, your doctor may advise you to take a potassium supplement. You can also help keep your potassium levels up by eating foods with a high potassium content. Bananas, tomatoes and plantains are all good sources of potassium.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. So, why haven't you heard of it? Because of money.

The pharmaceuticals industry knows about the remarkable healing properties of medicinal herbs and spices like cayenne pepper but they are not in the business of healing people but in making money.

New research just published in the journal Circulation concludes that a common, over-the-counter pain salve containing capsaicin rubbed on the skin during a heart attack could serve as a cardiac-protectant — reducing or even preventing damage to the heart. The researchers found an amazing 85 percent reduction in cardiac cell death when capsaicin was used. This is the most powerful cardioprotective effect ever recorded, according to Keith Jones, PhD, a researcher in the UC department of pharmacology and cell biophysics.

Dr. Jones and his research team applied capsaicin to specific skin locations in mice that caused reactions in the nervous system. Specifically, sensory nerves in the skin were triggered to activate what the scientists call cellular “pro-survival” pathways in the heart. The result? The heart muscle was protected from injury.

Please Note: If you don’t understand any particular Words used in my posting..just Google it for an explanation.

Teacher Baffour

teacherbaffour@teacher.com

Source: Teacher Baffour