CHILI PEPPERS AND PAIN RELIEF

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Peppers? How does that work? Pain in the joints causes release of substance P, a neurotransmitter which tells the brain when pain is occurring. The active ingredient in hot peppers, capsaicin, stimulates the release of this substance P, which may eventually deplete the supply and prevent further release. This results in fewer pain signals to the brain. With less subtance P in the joints, some patients have increased mobility and less pain after two weeks. This therapy has been used in treatment of headaches and arthritis. Repeated, prolonged use of creams with capsaicin has also been found to help in reduction of itching of dialysis patients, pain from shingles (herpes zoster), as well as pain and tingling associated with diabetes mellitus. A nice side benefit is that capsiacin also helps fight long term inflamation, which substance P seems to prolong. How often does it need to be used? The maximum benefit seems to be reached at a level of four applications daily. Are there any unpleasant side effects? There are less side effects than with anti-inflamatory drugs such as ibuprofin, which can affect the liver, stomach and intestines negatively after prolonged use. Less than half of the tested patients in a recent study reported a temporary burning or tingling sensation apon application, which was reported to have lessened over a short time, and resolved completely in most cases. Suggestion: be sure and wash your hands after applying this (or any other) cream. Should you rub your eyes or mouth after application without washing, there is enough capsiacin in the cream to give you more burning than if you had eaten hot peppers, causing great discomfort. So what else can it help? Migraines, cluster headaches, non-allergenic rhinitis, pain from burns, and treating psoraisis are just a few of the areas where pepper creams are being researched. Is this just some herbal, new age nonsense? Not at all. Peppers have been known to medicine for thousands of years. Ancient medicines containing peppers have been identified by researchers. The Scoville scale, the method for determining the heat factor of peppers, was invented by the same man responsible for HEET, a long used capsaicin based therapeutic salve. It's just recently that modern medicine has started looking at the healing properties of things that ancient medicine has used for generations. Just what is the Scoville scale, anyway? Invented in 1912 by Wilbur L. Scoville, it's the mothod for determining the heat factor of peppers. Today with high performance liquid chromatography performed by computers, the alkaloid capsiacin can be identified and rated. Liquid chromatography tells in partts per million how much capsiacin a pepper has. A red bell pepper has a Scoville rating of 0, a jalapeno about 5,000, and a bright orange habanero pepper can have a rating of 200,000. The ratings can vary. The highest rated pepper was at an amazing 326,000! For more information or to schedule an appointment, call CPTI at (303)-460-9129.

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