Common name: Cayenne - Capsicum
Botanical name: Capsicum frutescens
Family: Solanaceae or Nightshade

The first references to cayenne have been found on plaques in
Egyptian tombs.

It has been cultivated for culinary and medical uses for
centuries in the American tropics. The physician Diego
Alvarez Chanca described cayenne first in 1494. He discovered
cayenne when he accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second
journey to the West Indies.

Cayenne is native to tropical America, but is now cultivated
in tropical locations all over the world. In Mexico, Italy,
China and Southeast Asia it is a common part of the cuisine.

Although hot to the taste, cayenne actually lowers body
temperature by stimulating the cooling center of the hypothalamus.
So, it helps the body deal with high temperatures in the summer
or the humid tropics.

Cayenne supports the increase of the levels of liver enzymes,
which are responsible for fat metabolism, and can help to
reduce the deposits of fat caused by a high fat diet.

Cayenne is rich in the vitamins A, C, iron, potassium and
calcium. It also contains vitamin G, some B complex, magnesium,
phosphorus and sulfur.

Prized for thousand of years for its healing powers, recent
clinical studies have been conducted on many of these old-time
health applications and have validated cayenne's medical value.

Health practitioners consider cayenne one of the most important
herbs and a wonderful healer. Because of its stabilizing effect
for bleeding, shock and heart attack it is the number one herb
for first aid.

The number of cases that cayenne can be used for is quite
extensive. It has effective properties as an antioxidant, is effective
on the cardiovascular system, is useful for high and low blood
pressure, and is beneficial to the gastrointestinal function.

Cayenne is known to stop a heart attack, lower blood sugar in
diabetics, normalize blood pressure, stop bleeding in seconds,
improve circulation, and even halt the common cold.

Scientific evidence also indicates that cayenne pepper can be
effective in treating allergies, indigestion, abscesses,
tonsillitis, kidney problems, sore muscles, nose bleeds,
psoriasis, shingles, night blindness, some kinds of cancer
and in stimulating the body to rebuild stomach tissue.

Cayenne is a great stimulant and increases the efficiency of
other herbs. Medical science does not know of another stimulant
which is so natural, certain and has less side effects when
regularly used.

Capsaicin is an ingredient in cayenne that was isolated by
chemists more than hundred years ago. It is comprised of about
12% cayenne which is a compound that causes the sensory neurons
to release P, a substance which works as a pain messenger to
the nervous system to relief pain. The name capsaicin is found
in many drugstore ointments for arthritis and muscle pain.

It can also activate the antioxidant enzyme systems and
stabilize lung membrane lipids.

All the above applies for the dried raw fruit or powder. In the
cooked or un-dried form, cayenne can be a serious irritation to
the digestive tract and can contribute to an ulcerous condition.

Case studies:
Guy is a Red Fronted Amazon that was badly beaten by one of his
cage mates. He had lots of bite wounds on his wings and neck,
but the worst was his on head, which had a big open wound. And,
he had gone blind. Typically, this happened late in the evening
when no vet was available until the morning.

We brought him into the house, put him into a warm environment
and I started to give him water with cayenne powder. Several
vets had told me that most animals in such cases die of shock
and not of the actual injury. My main concern was to stabilize
him. That is why I kept giving him the "cayenne water". During
the night I occasionally checked on him and he seemed to be
stabilized. In the morning he had his eyesight back. According
to the vet, the loss of the eyesight was a side effect of the
shock.

The vet had to do a major surgery and Guy got several stitches
on his head to close the wound. He is fully recuperated, but
very shy with other birds.

A former roommate of mine had a pair of canaries. One day we
found the female laying on her back with seizures. We gave her
water with cayenne powder and she was back to normal within
half an hour. After that, she was given the cayenne powder
sprinkled over her food daily. She was doing fine, until my
friend forgot and stopped giving her the cayenne. She does not
remember how long after she stopped that she came home and found
the canary had died.

References:

10 Essential Herbs by Lalitha Thomas
Today's Herbal Health by Louise Tenney, M.H.
Herbal Medicine by Sharol Tilgner, N.D.
The Healing Power of Cayenne Pepper by Patrick Quillin, Dr
Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss
www.natures-herbs.com/cayenne.htm
www.findarticle.com/ml279/1999_August/55226119/pl/article.jhtml
www.alternative-medicine.com/herbdesc/1capsicu.htm

www.beaktreats.com E-mail: gudrun@yourparrotplace.com

All Articles Reprinted with the Kind Permission of The Author Gunrun Maybaum
Bird Nutrition and Herb Consultant

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