Capsaicin To The Rescue?

Chili_peppers
Capsaicin is the substance that makes chili peppers hot. I’ve loved the taste of it for years, and hot sauce has been a frequent guest at my table.

It also has medical applications. It’s used for a variety of conditions and is often found in creams for topical application and in the form of nutritional supplements. It helps with joint pain, muscle strain, and other complaints. It’s even been found to kill certain cancer cells.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK ON NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS, AND IT INCLUDES INFO ON CAPSAICIN.

But it turns out that capsaicin may have just unlocked one of the most troubling medical issues of our day: diabetes.

I’ve been meaning to blog on this for a while, and news has undoubtedly already raced through the diabetes community, but a team of Canadian researchers used capsaicin as part of a treatment that at least temporarily cures Type 1 diabetes in mice.

The researchers noticed abnormalities in the pain receptor cells in the pancreas of those affected with diabetes and conjectured that these were involved in the condition. They then took mice with Type 1 diabetes and injected their pancreases with capsaicin to deaden the pain receptor nerves. To their amazement, these mice almost immediately began producing insulin. They also injected a neuropeptide called Substance P, which helped, too. The upshot is that some of the mice have remained free of diabetic symptoms for as much as four months after a single treatment.

If this finding holds up, it turns a lot of thinking about the nature of Type 1 diabetes on its head and may open the door to an equivalent human treatment that could revolutionize the lives of those with diabetes.

It’s too soon to say whether this will all pan out, but human trials are expected to begin soon, and it’s definitely a subject to keep an eye on–and to keep praying about.

MORE ON CAPSAICIN.

MORE ON DIABETES.

MORE ON THE DIABETES DISCOVERY.

AND MORE.

AND MORE.

HERE’S THE ORIGINAL JOURNAL ARTICLE ON THE DISCOVERY (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED).

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

18 thoughts on “Capsaicin To The Rescue?”

  1. The point to remember that this is Type ONE diabetes, not Type 2 (once known as “adult-onset” or “non-insulin dependent”). Type 2 is the type we heavier, sedentary adults have to watch our weight to guard against. For those with Type I, this is exciting!

  2. I completely agree with this study. I would, however, be very careful about starting to take capsules such as cayenne pepper. My father in law started taking 100,000 btu capsules and occasionally would get very sick from the heat of the capsule in his stomach. He bought 40,000 btu capsules and hasn’t had a problem, but I took the 40,000 btu capsules and got extremely sick one day. The key is to take it after you have eaten–but I am kinda afraid to take any anymore!

  4. I once had a friend from Poland who mentioned to me that at one time he was extremely sick for many months, and although he visited numerous doctors, none could find out what was wrong with him. And as he grew weaker and weaker, somehow he thought to eat a large bowl of Jalepenos. Very shortly after, he told me, a very large tapeworm was expelled from his body, and he recovered perfectly.
    also, if I’m not mistaken, I think I once read that Padre Pio was somehow cured of an illness by eating nemerous hot peppers?
    Anyway, just some ideas on some other potential benefits of this special food.

  5. “Capsaicin comes in BTUs.” I laughed myself silly about this one; too good. And huzzah, Canadian scientists! Who woulda thunk that a bunch of freezing, sub-polar Canucks would make miracles from hot peppers? There’s something philosophical here, I’m sure.

  6. A. Williams: EEEEEEEWWWWWWW! My mother tried a milder form of this for pinworms when we were kids. She put us on a diet of only oranges for 3 days on the theory that all that acid would kill them, and it worked.
    You do need to be careful with the ceyanne; take it with food and Don’t Lie Down for a while. It’ll give you some serious acid reflux!

  7. Woohoo! Sounds like we can use chili peppers as an alternative energy source! I think my furnace puts out about 100,000 BTUs

  8. Diabetes runs in my family, with some relatives with really severe cases. This is exciting news.

  9. …Oh, another friend from Guatemala told me this item relating to hot peppers. He said that the buyers of bulk jalepeno’s were so accustomed to the Capsaicin that their tongues weren’t sensitive anymore, and so they couldn’t be relied on to judge the hotness of the peppers. So, to tell if the peppers were really good or not, they needed to squeeze a little drop into the corner or their eye! …believe it…or not!?
    ..so if you ever see a Guatamalen weeping..it might be because He just scored biggg on the last load of Chili peppers that he was hauling!
    Oh yeah…and forget Chavez’ crude.. and solar energy too! I’m puttin’ dough in Mexican commodities!!
    Like Beau says–100,000 btu’s from chili peppers??
    ….We’re RICH!!

  10. From The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra L.Ac., O.M.D.
    Cayenne increases overall energy of the body, keeps hemorrhages and secretions in check, relieves gas and abdominal pains, and relaxes muscle spasms. (I took out all the $9.00 doctor words.)
    Cayenne benefits the heart and circulation, can be rubbed on a tooth or gum when painful, or a tincture of cayenne can be rubbed into a painful joint and wrapped overnight with the pain usually relieved by morning.
    Not only that but it will definitely will unclog a stuffy nose!!! (My clinical experience, or… my restaurant experience!)
    🙂

  15. The capsaicin given to the rats for diabetes is not a capsule. It is an injection directly into the pancreas.

  18. Hot peppers should not be taken in capsule form, that’s why you had acid reflux. Your stomach was unprepared for the peppers and then the capsule opened up and surprised it. According to Dr. Richard Schulze, and herbalist who is very experienced with hot peppers, you should take peppers in food or in a glass of water or juice.
    When I took cayenne capsules I had the same problem, but drinking the pepper in water after a meal never causes a problem for me. You get a sensation in your body that you just can’t get with the capsules. Dr. Schulze says that you don’t get the full medicinal benefits from the capsules either, you have to take peppers straight into your mouth. I highly recommend reading about his discoveries using hot peppers to stop heartattacks, strokes, bleeding and other medicinal uses that few people know about.

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