Of course, dosage matters. In the case of cayenne , a little is good, but more isn t usually better, says Priscilla Evans, N.D., a naturopathic doctor at the Community Wholistic Health Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Whether eaten as a food or taken as medicine, cayenne pepper has been used for centuries to treat asthma, fevers, sore throats, respiratory infections, and digestive problems. It can relieve flatulence and stimulate the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, and it may also reduce blood cholesterol and decrease a tendency to form blood clots. Many of these actions stem from the ability of cayenne to stimulate the circulation and generate heat, says Dr. Evans.
Cayenne is found in many herbal formulas to get the blood moving.
Stops a Charging Bear Cayenne is native to tropical America. Also called chile pepper or red pepper , it comes from the dried fruit of several species and hybrids of plants in the Solanaceae family. The main active ingredient in cayenne is capsaicin , the stuff that makes hot peppers hot. In concentrated form, cayenne is so irritating that it s bottled in self-defense sprays that are advertised as being strong enough to stop a charging grizzly bear. Other constituents in cayenne include carotenoids , vitamins A and C, and volatile oils.