How Chili Peppers Can Be Used to Treat Pain

Chili peppers’ heat comes from capsaicin, a compound produced to protect them from fungal attack. Capsaicin is available in pain-relieving creams and patches, and has shown promise for relieving shingles pain, osteoarthritis, psoriasis symptoms, and more. Capsaicin has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and has also shown some promise for cancer, weight loss, and allergy symptoms.

Eating Peppers May Reduce Parkinson’s Risk

Peppers are a member of the Solanaceae family of vegetables, informally known as nightshades, which also includes tobacco, tomatoes and potatoes. Upon analyzing the vegetable consumption, tobacco and caffeine use of nearly 500 newly diagnosed Parkinson’s patients as well as a group of healthy controls, researchers found that eating peppers – but not other vegetables in the Solanaceae family — was associated with a 19 percent lower risk of Parkinson’s.