Re: Cayenne is our friend...

I still do not agree with your assertation that cayenne "burnt" your stomache. You may have experienced irritation, but if research is to believed, it did not actually "burn" your stomach. So, for the record, there is a difference and the research to substantiate it...

Often when on an extended fast, one becomes so used to the cayenne that adding more than the 1/10th teaspoon is common. You can always dilute any lemonade where you have inadvertantly added too much pepper.

Below are some blurbs and the urls on cayenne which assert that cayenne does not harm the stomach.

be happy, be well,
Zoe

Digestive De-tox and Ulcer Afterburners

It was once believed that chile would burn out the lining of the stomach, but this has been disproved by doctors who have used cayenne, ironically, to relieve digestive distress, and more recently, by a medical study conducted in 1988 at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, which found that chile increases gastric secretions in the stomach but does no harm. Rob McCaleb, an ethnobotanist and president of the Herb Research Foundation in Boulder, Colorado, observes that various kinds of chile actually helps digestion and reduces flatulence by increasing the circulation in the stomach and intestines so that food is processed and absorbed more efficiently. Indeed, one of the reasons cayenne is often included in herbal blends is so that all the ingredients will be assimilated more productively.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/healing1.html

There has been some discussion about whether cayenne, if it is used excessively, can irritate or even cause ulceration of the intestinal tract. In reviewing the modern scientific literature, studies agree that cayenne not only does not harm the intestinal mucosa (the protective covering), but on the contrary, can speed healing--though some people seem to be more sensitive to the irritating effect than others. In one study, daily consumption of meals containing 3 grams of chili powder did not worsen patients with duodenal ulcers who were also taking antacids. A recent study, using a video camera threaded into the digestive tract, found no visible damage to the mucosa of the stomach or upper small intestine of 12 healthy volunteers who consumed 30 grams of jalapeno peppers. When the subjects were given a meal containing 2 grams of aspirin, multiple gastric ulcers were seen in 11 out of the 12.

http://www.christopherhobbs.com/website/library/articles/article_fi...

Over the last quarter century, cayenne peppers have been the subject of scientific studies in the areas of pain, digestion, and circulation. Long thought to be an irritant, capsaicin is actually a counter-irritant that reduces pain and swelling, and is useful as a topical analgesic. It also stimulates circulation, aids in digestion, and breaks up congestion. As a diaphoretic (perspiration producer), chiles help people who live in hot climates regulate their body temperatures, and it serves as an antiseptic when directly applied to an affected area. It also has some limited blood thinning capabilities which are helpful in the treatment of high blood pressure and heart disease. It was once believed that chiles would burn out the lining of the stomach, but this has been disproved by doctors who have used cayenne, ironically, to relieve digestive distress, and more recently, by a medical study conducted in 1988 at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, which found that chile increases gastric secretions in the stomach but does no harm. Rob McCaleb, an ethnobotanist and president of the Herb Research Foundation in Boulder, Colorado, observes that various kinds of chile actually helps digestion and reduces flatulence by increasing the circulation in the stomach and intestines so that food is processed and absorbed more efficiently (Stock and Hunter).

http://groups.msn.com/FoodiesCorner/medicalproperties.msnw