Following a (trap shooting) match on a chilly October afternoon, Jim and Jimmy shook hands. Jimmy commented that Jim’s hand was warm – despite the fact he didn’t wear gloves. Jim replied that he takes cayenne pepper (active hot ingredient is capsaicin) once or twice daily.

I recalled that Cayenne pepper has a long history as a supplement support for cardiovascular and digestive health. For those who’d like more details about the reported benefits of cayenne (capsaicin)see Webmd.com for an extensive list of possible uses.

There’s a powerful sinus relief nasal spray (Sinus Buster) that is also known to quickly relieve headaches, even migraines.  I’ve used it often and can attest to its effectiveness. There’s a sharp initial burn that quickly subsides. The innovator of the product was a self-defense teacher who accidentally got a blast from a pepper spray during a demonstration. He reports that his migraine disappeared almost immediately after inhaling the pepper. That experience led him to develop and market the Sinus Buster product. The Compounder has stocked it for many years.

These pieces of data led to a simple experiment with someone who seems to always have cold hands. Ingesting cayenne pepper with meals is easy and it seems to be effective at raising the temperature of her hands. While I wouldn’t claim that using cayenne would work for everyone, it certainly seems like a reasonable idea. Cayenne has a long history of safe use. The main warnings are about getting it in the eyes (people who use cayenne pepper in a topical cream should be particularly careful).

The Compounder stocks capsule form of Cayenne Pepper, 500 mg capsules.

It isn’t expensive and it might work. An alternative is to eat more hot peppers.

Would you opt for the capsules or a few plates of heat daily?