Spice Up Your Gout With Some Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper has been used medicinally in China and the Americas for centuries. Cayenne pepper may be used to treat many ailments like heartburn, fever, flatulence nausea, tonsillitis, migraines, colds and the flu , supports weight loss, may be considered a anit-cancer agent, may help blood circulation and might prevent factors leading to the formation of blood clots helping reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke which many gout sufferers are at risk of.
It also may help to keep blood pressure levels normal and may help produce HDL, the good kind cholesterol. Considering that heart disease is the number one killer in North America, this is significant. Cayenne pepper has recently grown in popularity for cleansing and detox regimens since the spice stimulates circulation and neutralizes acidity in the body.
Well guess what? I wouldnt be talking about cayenne pepper if it couldnt also help with your gout! First of all, cayenne pepper is used by people who suffer not only from gout but arthritis as well and gout is a type of arthritis as you know. What makes cayenne pepper special is the substance in it called capsaicin or capsicum which makes cayenne pepper hot and spicy. Used topically on the skin may offer joint-pain relief on the affected area.
Best Beverages For Arthritis
Theres an old saying you are what you eat. But what you drink can have an enormous effect on your body and health too.
People dont put enough thought into what theyre drinking, says Sonya Angelone, a nutritionist in private practice in the San Francisco area and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. What you eat and drink is information to your body and if you are drinking well, it can definitely affect how you feel and the messages your body is getting.
Angelone recommends starting every day with a glass of water before you eat any food, since many people wake up a bit dehydrated. She says you want to stick primarily with water the rest of the day too. The typical recommendation is eight glasses a day.
In general, nutritionists advise you to avoid soda since its full of sugar, aspartame and phosphoric acid. The latter negatively affects your bodys ability to absorb calcium.
But what should you be drinking?
Tea
Tea is one of the most-studied drinks when it comes to its benefits for arthritis patients. Green, black and white teas are all rich in polyphenols compounds from plants that have strong anti-inflammatory effects.
Coffee
Research shows coffee also has antioxidant polyphenols. That means coffee can help fight free radicals in the body, which cause cell damage. Other research suggests coffee may have a protective effect against gout as well.
Milk
Juices
Smoothies
Alcohol
Water
Arthritis Pain Could Be Reduced Or Prevented By Changing Your Diet Plan Taking These Spicy Supplements Could Stop Joint Pain And Inflammation Its Been Claimed
Arthritis is a common condition that affects about 10 million people in the UK, according to the NHS.
The condition causes joint pain, inflammation, and warm red skin over the affected joints. Patients could relieve their painful symptoms by taking capsaicin supplements, scientists have claimed.
Capsaicin is a compound that comes from chilli peppers, and is responsible for the burning sensation when eating spicy foods. Osteoarthritis patients, the most common types of arthritis in the UK, would benefit from taking the supplements, according to Arthritis Research UK.
Capsaicin in cayenne pepper has potent pain-relieving effects, said medical website Live Strong. When applied topically in cream or ointment form, capsaicin initially causes a brief stinging sensation, which stimulates the pain nerves. It then gradually reduces substance P, a chemical necessary for nerves to send pain signals.
Substance P plays an important role in transmitting pain signs to the brain. Arthritis patients can use capsaicin as a topical cream, a gel, or a patch. Eating more capsaicin could also help to control patients blood sugar, added nutritionist Dr Josh Axe.
Consistently consuming foods high in this nutrient has been proven to improve the blood sugar and insulin reactions in both men and women, and also in women with gestational diabetes. A painful condition associated with diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, may also be treated with capsaicin cream to decrease pain responses.
Recommended Reading: How To Help Someone With Arthritis
Benefits Of Cayenne Pepper For Arthritis
Arthritis. Its been afflicting people since the dawn of time. In the U.S. today, about 55 million adults suffer from some form of arthritis.
With numbers like that, its no wonder some pretty strange remedies have hit the market. Ever heard of bee stings and snake venom to heal arthritis? Chronic pain, like that associated with arthritis, drives some people to try just about anything.
Fortunately, you dont have to go to such extremes to experience the relief you so desperately want. An all-natural, powerful pain reliever might be hiding in your kitchen cabinet.
Foods And Beverages To Avoid With Arthritis
Arthritis is a common health condition involving chronic inflammation in your joints. It causes pain and damage to joints, bones, and other body parts depending on the type .
Osteoarthritis, which is noninflammatory, is the most common though over 100 types exist. In fact, up to 40% of men and 47% of women may be diagnosed with osteoarthritis during their lifetime .
Meanwhile, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are inflammatory conditions that are considered autoimmune diseases. Gout is another common type of inflammatory arthritis .
Research shows that dietary interventions, such as eliminating certain foods and beverages, may reduce symptom severity in people with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis, as well as improve their overall quality of life.
Here are 8 foods and beverages to avoid if you have arthritis.
Read Also: How To Avoid Arthritis In Hands
It Relieves Osteoarthritis Symptoms
A study dated back to 1991 demonstrated that 0.025% topical capsaicin reduced pain by 33% in osteoarthritis patients within 4 weeks of treatment.
In fact, 80% of the patients reported a reduction in pain within 2 weeks of treatment.
The transient burning sensation was felt in 23 out of 52 individuals and 2 individuals withdrew from the study due to this effect.
Researchers concluded that capsaicin is a safe and effective treatment for arthritis.
Topical capsaicin 0.075% applied 4 times a day is found to relieve pain and tenderness in painful osteoarthritis of the hand.
Even low dose capsaicin gel treatment for four weeks results in significant reduction in stiffness and pain score in osteoarthritis. However burning sensation was reported but no participant withdrew from the study.
Topical herbal cream containing capsaicin and menthol is reported to reduce pain and stiffness in osteoarthritis.
Another study showed that capsaicin present in ointment and creams are safe and well tolerated when used for osteoarthritis patients. It was indicated, topical capsaicin is moderately effective in reducing pain when applied four times daily regardless of the site of application and its dose.
What does this mean? Topical capsaicin reduces joint pain, stiffness and swelling involved in osteoarthritis.
Because Arthritis Is A Disease Of Inflammation An Anti
Now that you understand Arthritis Basics, begin an anti-inflammatory diet: exclude foods that fan the flames of inflammation and embrace plenty of foods that reduce it. To get the most out of nutritional changes, you should adopt both sets of recommendations.
Foods to AvoidI already mentioned that being overweight puts extra stress on the joints, which escalates the risk of wear and tear. But there is another reason being overweight is a problem. Body fat is not an inert substance it is metabolically active, capable of producing hormones and chemicals that actually increase levels of inflammation. By losing weight and avoiding excess calories that can cause weight gain youll automatically reduce inflammation in your body.
Specific food groups that increase inflammation include:
Foods to Add
These Food Cures all help to reduce some aspect of inflammation:
Discover more Food Cures for your health.
You May Like: Rheumatoid Arthritis Remedy
When Will Hot Housing Market Finally Start To Cool
Researchers have discovered that the burinng pain of arthritis is similar to the pain associated with eating chili peppers. The receptor activated by chili peppers in the mouth and other tissues also increases in the terminals of sensory neurons in the skin after inflammation, and this contributes to pain hypersensitivity, says Clifford Woolf, director of the Neural Plasticity Research Group in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at Massachusetts General Hospital . A receptor is a protein that transports a chemical signal into a cell. Woolf and study lead author Ru-Rong Ji, also of the MGH Neural Plasticity Research Group, found that the increased production of the receptor following inflammation is mediated by a signal molecule called p38, located within sensory neurons. The chili pepper receptor responds to capsaicin, the chemical that is responsible for the hot in peppers. It also responds to actual heat and to low pH, a condition that occurs with inflammation. With these findings, were starting to understand why patients with arthritis or other inflammatory conditions are likely to have increased pain and sensitivity to heat, says Woolf, who also is Richard J. Kitz Professor of Anaesthesia Research at Harvard Medical School.
Arthritis And Nightshades: Are You Sensitive
The best way to figure out whether or not you are sensitive to members of the nightshade family is to remove them from your diet completely for several weeks. Then reintroduce nightshades.
We recommend being bold in your reintroduction enjoy your Body Ecology-friendly nightshades for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Observe how your body feels over the following 48 hours. If you find that you have more joint pain than usual, you may want to consider removing nightshades from your diet completely.
While you may miss some of your favorite dishes, there are many foods that you can use to replace nightshades, making the transition to a nightshade-free diet that much easier.
For example, black pepper and other peppercorns do not belong to the nightshade family. This means that freshly cracked pepper can heat up your dish without heating up your joints. In fact, research has found that black pepper can relieve intestinal distress, and in Chinese medicine, black pepper is used therapeutically for this purpose.6,7
In addition to black pepper, other warming herbs include:
- Wasabi: A hot and pungent Japanese condiment that will clear your sinuses and cleanse your liver.
- Horseradish: A spicy root that belongs to the same botanical family as wasabi. Often used as a condiment with roast beef.
- Ginger: Another root that is used in cuisines around the world. Many people enjoy ginger as a tea to relieve digestive discomfort and reduce morning sickness.
Recommended Reading: What Really Causes Arthritis
Foods That Can Relieve Your Joint Pain
If you have frequent joint pain, you can reduce your pain and inflammation by improving your diet. You may ask, What foods help with joint pain? Certain foods can help relieve joint pain caused by arthritis, inflammation and trauma. While you may not like all foods that nourish the joints, you should find at least one or two on this list that will help you reduce the pain in your joints.
Heres a list of foods that have active ingredients or compounds known to help relieve joint pain naturally.
How To Use Capsaicin For Osteoarthritis
Eating capsaicin present in chilli peppers is generally considered safe, but when used in moderate amount. Large intake of chilli peppers and for longer period of time is usually not recommended as it can lead to side effects such as sweating, flushing, running nose and stomach problems.
Capsaicin is available as capsules and creams for external use. Oral consumption of capsaicin is not found to be beneficial for pain relief.
Capsaicin is commercially available as 0.025%, 0.075%, and 0.1% creams. These can be applied 3-4 times a day.
Most of the creams contain 0.025% to 0.075% capsaicin content and for arthritic patients they are mainly applied 3-4 times daily for around 14 days for complete relief.
A single-application high-dose capsaicin 8% patch is available. This patch is generally applied by a medical practitioner and can be applied as frequently as every 3 months.
Initial burning and stinging sensation are possible that fades away and progressively reduces with repeated applications.
However, if you notice redness or excessive burning sensation, please discontinue the use.
Read Also: What Does Ra Feel Like
Cayenne Pepper For Arthritis
For 7,000 years, people have been growing hot peppers for their intense flavor and ability to spice up a plain dish. Columbus brought hot peppers to Spain on his return voyage from the New World.
In addition to seasoning cuisines worldwide, using cayenne for joint and muscle pain is a traditional “go-to” treatment in many cultures. For centuries, cayenne has been a potent natural pain reliever throughout India, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and North and South America.
So, what gives cayenne peppers their ability to ease chronic joint pain?
Cayenne’s Many Health Benefits
Topical pain relievers are best for soothing arthritis pain, but arthritis patients often have other health issues issues that cayenne can help with.
It’s easy to add cayenne to your diet. Try using ground cayenne instead of black pepper . You could also add a little cayenne hot sauce to your Mexican dishes or hot wings.
If you cant handle the heat though, tasteless cayenne supplements are widely available. Natural health practitioners report many health benefits for cayenne including:
- Helping poor circulation
- Improving digestion and reducing acidity
- Curing diarrhea
- Relieving painful cramps and headaches
- Lowering high cholesterol
- Reducing hunger
- Lowering high blood pressure
Don’t Miss: Is Arthritis Acute Or Chronic
How To Use Capsaicin
To avoid excessive irritation or burning, which can occur with capsaicin cream, you need to take care when applying the products to your skin.
To use capsaicin to manage pain, keep these essential rules in mind:
- Avoid contact with eyes and mucous membranes.
- Wash hands thoroughly after applying creams or other topical treatments.
- Wear thick rubber gloves instead of latex gloves since capsaicin can seep through latex.
- Do not apply capsaicin to open wounds or broken skin.
- Keep the creams away from children and pets.
- If you apply capsaicin cream to your feet, cover them to avoid contaminating the floor and spreading the capsaicin.
If you have a burning feeling, applying cool, dry packs wrapped in cloth should offer some relief. Only use these for brief periods to avoid injuring the skin.
Ditch The Salt In Favor Of Beneficial Spice
Investing in quality spices is good for your wallet and your health. Excessive salt intake can worsen other related conditions such as high blood pressure, which could indirectly lead to more inflammation in the body. Although eating salt in moderation is okay, Tehrani notes that it doesnt have an anti-inflammatory effect.
Overconsumption leads to many issues, she says. People with arthritis who take corticosteroids, a drug that is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, should especially watch their salt intake because the medication causes people to retain sodium.
If you want to add flavor to your food and reduce inflammation, consider using anti-inflammatory herbs and spices such as turmeric, garlic, black pepper, and ginger. A study published in November 2012 in the journal Phytotherapy Research found that curcumin, an active ingredient in turmeric, reduced tenderness and swelling in the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Read Also: Mayo Clinic Arthritis Treatment
How To Know If Youre Sensitive
If you think that eating nightshade vegetables exacerbates your arthritis symptoms, eliminate them from your diet for four weeks. Keep a diary to track your food intake along with changes in the frequency and severity of symptoms.
After one month, add these foods back to your diet. If doing so increases your symptoms, you may be sensitive to nightshades. Consider other factors, too, which can make rheumatoid arthritis worse such as stress and fatigue.
Capsaicin: Risks And Benefits
Department of Pharmacy, Alta BatesMedical CenterBerkeley, California
US Pharm.
Capsaicin is a chemical compound that was first isolated from chili peppers in crystalline form in 1878. Soon after, it was discovered that capsaicin caused a burning sensation in the mucous membranes. In addition, it increased secretion of gastric acid and stimulated the nerve endings in the skin. The chemical structure of capsaicin was partly elucidated in 1919, and in 1930 capsaicin was chemically synthesized. In 1961, substances similar to capsaicin were isolated from chili peppers by Japanese chemists, who named them capsaicinoids. Dihydrocapsaicin , nordihydrocapsaicin , and homocapsaicin comprise 30% of the total capsaicinoids mixture and have about half the pungency of capsaicin.1
Pepper spray, also known as capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent used in crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears. The active ingredient in pepper spray is oleoresin capsicum from chili peppers that is extracted in an organic solvent such as ethanol. The solvent is then evaporated, and the waxlike resin is emulsified with propylene glycol to suspend the OC in water. The OC is then pressurized for use in pepper spray.2
Don’t Miss: Vicks Vaporub For Arthritis
What To Remember Most About This Article:
A recent study linked nightshade plants with joint pain and tissue destruction in sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis. Nightshades include tomato, potato, eggplant, bell pepper, gooseberry, and tomatillo and may be toxic in large doses.
Initially, The Body Ecology Diet recommends avoiding tomato, eggplant, and green bell pepper, especially if your digestive and nervous systems are highly sensitive. Nightshades contain high levels of alkaloids that can cause symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal pain, and headaches in large amounts.
If you suspect that youre sensitive to nightshades, start by cutting them out of your diet for several weeks. From there, reintroduce nightshades at every meal to see how your body responds within 48 hours. If joint pain flares up again, it may be time to kiss nightshades goodbye for good.
The good news is that there are a number of replacements for nightshades in your diet. For example, mashed cauliflower is a healthy, delicious twist on the old favorite of mashed potatoes, made with a cruciferous vegetable that is rich in antioxidants.
REFERENCES: