Re: Is cayenne really safe in large amounts

I think this is a great question for which there may not be a single, all-inclusive answer. For one reason, since Cayenne is considered part of the wide realm of homeopathic and or alternative treatment, right off the bat this pushes it to the side where it does not have the benefit of the light of day that may result from genuine and wide-spread study. In other words, part of the homeopathic/alternative neighborhood includes the fact that we are often times resigned to anecdotal evidence rather than what is generally considered hard-core establishment-type "proof". In a way, this is not necessarily and all bad thing. From an establishment point of view, it should surprise nobody that they have been developing drugs over the recent years that employ one of the main compounds that they were able to identify and isolate from Cayenne (and cayenne-like peppers), some people call it Capsicum, some call it Capsaciam, and there are other similar derivatives of this word being used. The botanical name for the general class of peppers related here is Capsicum Frutescens.

Just an example that may not mean much for your question. From early adult life, I took a liking to spicey foods, for instance buffalo wings, many of which are made spicey hot with various peppers - jalapeno, cayenne, habanero, etc. It got to the point that the spicier they were, the more I enjoyed them.... at least while putting them in at the top end. As I got older, I noticed that the process of them coming out the bottom end was not in any way as enjoyable as how they went in on top.

Since MH was mentioned, I take one of his products regularly that includes cayenne powder in a capsule with several other ingredients. This is a product to keep the lower bowells regularly moving. It works well for this, but in the interim, starting about 20 minutes after taking the capsules, I get a hot feeling in the stomach that is similar to the onset of heartburn. The main exception is, this feelign generally subsides without further incident within the hour, whereas my bouts of heartburn tend to increasingly get worse and last for many hours. What does this mean?.... still, I'm not sure, but I am accumulating some evidence at least as it pertains to my particular body. I'm getting the idea that my body may have aged to a point where it does not necessarily tolerate Cayenne (Capsicum) as well as it possibly should; aged meaning perhaps I've accumulated so much gunk inside, like in the liver, that taking Cayenne causes an upset stomach and bowell (cramps) during elimination.


Meantime, I still take the aforementioned bowell product regularly, it continues to produce the desired results and as well as some of the undesirable ones. I don't eat spicey stuff nearly as often as I've been conditioned to like.... not even crispy fried spicey wings, but I'm still a believer in Cayenne. For the most part, outside of this one bowell product, I've focuses more of my efforts (and experimentations) with Cayenne on some really good results using it for external purposes, for treating wounds, cuts, pain, swelling, and most recently, two extracted root-canaled crowned teeth that I experienced NO PAIN afterwards..... but keep in mind that with my tolerance level, I am not one to complain about the spicey after affects left in one's mouth as though it is "pain". This effect usually goes away within 20 minutes or so, but I do know people who's tolerance to spicey is a lot less than mine, and they tend to freak out from such effects..... we are all different in our own little ways, chances are the results from using Cayenne will manifest differently.