capsaisin for pain relief

The chemical capsaicin that gives hot peppers their spiciness also reduces levels of something called substance P in the body. This is why some people use capsaicin to treat pain. Patches with an 8% concentration of capsaicin effectively treat pain for up to twelve weeks, and they do this just by reducing levels of substance P. Capsaicin cream for arthritis works by depleting substance P around a joint. Hearing this, some people go out and eat a lot of hot peppers or cover their meals in cayenne pepper to reduce their pain levels. You can try simply cooking with more cayenne pepper or taking cayenne tablets. The downside of this is that peppers belong to the family of nightshade vegetables. Many people (about 20 percent) are sensitive to nightshades. For these people eating nightshades causes inflammation, which does not help reduce levels of substance P. If you are one of those people, use pure vanilla bean instead! Both capsaicin and vanilla work by interacting with your vanilloid receptors. Pay attention to your body, and if you start experiencing joint pain after eating nightshades, switch to pure vanilla.