After staring at the cover of the March/April 2004 issue of our Fiery-Foods & BBQ magazine for perhaps twenty minutes, many of you men out there are probably asking yourselves: What are they thinking? Chiles have nothing whatsoever to do with sex. A chile is just a chile–or is it? Within the human psyche, everything has something to do …
The Powerful Health Punch of the Mighty Pod
by Dave DeWitt Excerpted from The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia (1998, William Morrow & Co.). Chile peppers don’t have to be healthy to be fun to eat, but fortunately, they are. In fact, they have quite a long history as a folk remedy for all kinds of ailments, from anorexia to vertigo. Some of the more scientifically recognized medical applications of …
The Healing Powers of Hot Peppers: Part 3, Chile for Your Head
by Melissa T. Stock and Kellye Hunter Treat your head with something hot. While the thought of eating chile may make your mouth water, the idea of chiles in your eyes or nose is enough to make you cry–even though it can be good for you. In the West Indies, for example, the pressed juice of chiles is …
The Healing Powers of Hot Peppers: Part 2, Capsaicin as a Cold Remedy
by Melissa T. Stock and Kellye Hunter It’s four a.m. and you can’t sleep. You can’t breathe. All motor skills are useless except the ones necessary to use tissue. You can, however, manage to sneeze, snort, hack, cough and sniffle. A lot. Even your dog is beginning to dislike you due to the rude and loud noises vibrating from your …
The Healing Powers of Hot Peppers: Part 1, Cayenne as a Curative
by Melissa T. Stock and Kellye Hunter “And the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine” (Ezekiel 47:12) An entry from the journal of Priddy Meeks, a doctor in mid-nineteenth century Utah, sets the scene for our special report on the medicinal uses of chile peppers: “He reached Parowan with both feet frozen above …