Many of the ph charts claim that cayenne, a hot pepper, is high ph. Regardless of ph they should be looked at as how they affect the body just as you have been saying.
I used to get the worst cough that eventually became the worst cold in the nose. It occurred every fall maybe allergy related. In any event, this horror story went away once I started eating hot peppers. Every Day.
BTW, oil pulling has helped greatly in clearing the lungs of much of the nasty stuff.