Cayenne/Capsacin

IH -- What's the recommended daily dosage on Cayenne. I have those 500mg NOW ones you linked to and I want to make sure I'm taking enough. I thought 6g a day was the recommended dose but I wasn't sure.

hadrion - 6 Grams is for increasing metabolic rate. Fortunately, the dose doesn't have to be that high with Cayenne for hair purposes.

Two 500 caps during stressful periods. I'm not sure what the half-life is, so it's best to take it a few times per day if things are really intense. If you were to take it 3 times per day, that does add up to 6 grams, but it's more of a use as needed supplement.

Unless there is extreme stress, no need to take it.

I should add, that cayenne works as an adjunct also, so if taken regularly should improve a regime all together.

Thanks IH -- I was thinking of supplementing with it during the holidays as a precaution that always is period of high stress for me.

As it is for all of us, Hadrion...I'm already planning my escape!

Since we're on the topic of proper supplement dosages I wanted to share a quote from a doctor I used to go to named Majid Ali. A former surgeon, he completely turned away from conventional Western medicine and opened an Integrative Health clinic in NJ and NY. He's written many books, including the one I'm about to quote from called RDA Rats, Drugs and Assumptions. We've talked a bunch about the RDA being total BS and I thought this quote was good inspiration for all of us who might be afraid we're taking too much of a particular vitamin:

"The notion of Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) is the most pernicious idea of 20th-century medicine. In 1940 the Food and Nutrition Board established amounts of several nutrients that it considered sufficient to prevent some nutritional deficiency diseases. This was unequivocally the worst medical folly ever foisted on the American people by government experts. None of the "experts" who sat on the Nutritional Board proclaiming the RDA doctrine had ever practiced nutritional medicine. Notwithstanding, the RDA doctrine led to a widespread assumption among physicians that nutrients play no role in reversing chronic degenerative, ecologic and immune disorders. It led to the second and more dangerous assumption that diseases could only be treated with drugs. Little did anyone recognize that these two seemingly innocent assumptions would rob millions of Americans of untold opportunities in using nontoxic, non-drug nutrient therapies for disease prevention and treatment of chronic disorders.
The tragic error of the RDA is that it went on to spawn generations of physicians who turned their backs on the essential healing properties of nutrients, and became staunch opponents of all non-drug therapies."

-Preface, RDA Rats, Drugs and Assumptions

ganny -- I have no doubts about what you posted. Does that doctor still practice and take patients? I'm in that area and might be interested.

I'm looking at my Mom, for instance, who has been prescribed cholesterol meds and now has severe knee problems and has been given a thiazide for blood pressure and was told by her doctor she borderline diabetic after never having that problem in 69 years of her life.

Then I read that the cholesterol meds she takes cause joint problems and thiazides increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by 50%.

I know there's a link. You'd have to be stupid not to.

And yet I tell my Mom this and she refuses to drop the meds which are most likely causing the problems she's having.

It's sad and a disgrace that the medical community is practicing like this and have convinced people to be afraid of not listening and finding new answers.

Thanks for posting that about the RDA, fantastic information. Hadrion--best of luck to your mom man, older generations are stubborn...I know.

Why do not you ask her to supplement first with additional helpful natural alternatives for her condition (while still on the meds) and as she sees the progress she can being to delink herself from the medicine later?

Ppl need to see the results before they buy into some of this stuff... I am planning to ask my parents to start on some of the needed supplements as helpful cofactors and then see where it goes. As long as the supplement does not interfere with the meds, we should be okay.

I mean it does not have to be an either or discussion....

hadrion wrote:ganny -- I have no doubts about what you posted. Does that doctor still practice and take patients? I'm in that area and might be interested.

I'm looking at my Mom, for instance, who has been prescribed cholesterol meds and now has severe knee problems and has been given a thiazide for blood pressure and was told by her doctor she borderline diabetic after never having that problem in 69 years of her life.

Then I read that the cholesterol meds she takes cause joint problems and thiazides increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by 50%.

I know there's a link. You'd have to be stupid not to.

And yet I tell my Mom this and she refuses to drop the meds which are most likely causing the problems she's having.

It's sad and a disgrace that the medical community is practicing like this and have convinced people to be afraid of not listening and finding new answers.

hadrion - I'm sorry to hear that story. I know people all over who have that mindset, it is as if there is a disconnect or perhaps they put all of their faith into "modern" medicine.

Cholesterol medications a gateway to dementia, muscle weakness, pain, congestive heart failure and cancer.

I have found in many patients the "comfort" in following their conventional doctors prescription plan, sometimes to appease them and other times to sustain their insurance.

Believe it or not the thiazides are the "safest" of the blood pressure medications--but not safe enough. Magnesium and Potassium and reducing insulin levels are a safer alternative. Hope she finds a good doctor.

I've already gotten her to take Krill, D3 and Magnesium daily, so I'm winning 1/2 the battle.

I really wish I could find a doctor in the NYC area that I could bring her to that knows what a lot of you know and could help her with a plan to get off the cholesterol meds at the very least.

hadrion - This is usually a good place to find one, but where you live maybe a factor.

http://www.acamnet.org/site/c.ltJWJ4MPIwE/b.2071557/k.7C1E/ACAM_Homepage.htm

Hadrion,

Majid Ali does still practice. Here's the bummer--because a lot of his therapies are nutritional or alternative--hydrogen peroxide therapy, etc. he does not accept insurance. So you'd basically have to pay up front and bill your insurance company, and it's almost certain that they are not going to cover alternative therapies.

They will cover his basic office visits because he's a real M.D., but he does like you to take his supplement line as part of his recovery plan. You could probably negotiate that, but I'm telling you upfront because that's the one thing I found annoying about his clinic. It was a big expenditure. Still, an initial consultation might be good. If I had more money I would definitely go back to him.

Here is the link to his clinic:

http://majidali.com/new.htm

Best,

Gan

IH--I think I convinced my Mom to drop the Zetia yesterday, especially after learning she didn't even have high cholesterol when they prescribed it to her. She was "borderline". I couldn't believe that.

Is there anything, supp wise, I should get her on now that she's dropping that stuff?

hadrion - Great news! Lipoic Acid (Preferably coupled with biotin) and Co-Enzyme Q10 would be great additions if she is open to it.

Since statin drugs inhibit Co-Enzyme Q10 production, this will allow a nice recovery and help improve her heart function (in case the statin did any damage). The Lipoic acid will decrease oxidative stress caused from the thiazide drug and improve her glucose metabolism and liver function.

Thanks IH -- I'll get her on those as well as a precaution.

On a side note to anyone checking this thread thinking of using cayenne -- start slow. I tried 4 pills a day 500mg each and it gave me bad stomach problems. You definitely have to start slow with it.

IH -- What dosages should I be looking to get my Mom on now that she's off Zetia.

100mg/day of CoQ10 and 300mg ALA 5mcg Biotin?

Thanks.

hadrion - 100 Milligrams of Ubiquinol (which is the active form of Co-Q10). Here's something that came out in very positive support earlier this year.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/100405.php

It is believed to be 6 to 8 times more effective than standard Co-enzyme Q10 or Ubiquinone.

300 mg of ALA is good, the biotin doesn't have to be that high, but it doesn't hurt at all. A full diabetic would
want extra biotin. Taking the ALA around meal time is important, since it can cause a drop in blood sugar.

To go back to capsaicin, is supplemental capsaicin aggravating to people with a sensitivity of spicy food? I would imagine yes.

rjfnyu wrote:To go back to capsaicin, is supplemental capsaicin aggravating to people with a sensitivity of spicy food? I would imagine yes.

I usually handle spicy foods really well and thought I'd have no issue with this.

However, here's the deal the 500mg Cayenne pills -- When I took 2 pills at a time I had stomach pain/irritation immediately.

Since backing down to 1 500mg pill with a meal 2x a day, I've had no issues.

This stuff is potent and it pops in your stomach quickly. You can feel it hit you so start slow and build up if you want to take more, otherwise you're asking for gastrointestinal problems.

My NOW bottle says that it aids in digestion.

JHarsh80 wrote:My NOW bottle says that it aids in digestion.

Take 2 pills with a meal and if you have no problems, you're a better man than me. I couldn't handle it.

This stuff is definitely affects the gastrointestinal tract and its easy to imagine that everyone would have different tolerances.

Cayenne affects the celiac branch of the vagus nerve that supplies the intestine. It stimulates evacuation and if a lot of it is taken, it can make a hastened one. I had mentioned in a few threads that if you take quite a bit of it, a burning sensation can be experienced--no joke.

hadrion wrote:

JHarsh80 wrote:My NOW bottle says that it aids in digestion.

Take 2 pills with a meal and if you have no problems, you're a better man than me. I couldn't handle it.

I just took 2 on a full stomach with a bunch of my other supplements and there was some mild esophageal burning but nothing in the stomach area. Slightly unpleasant but tolerable I guess. I think there is a resistance or tolerance to it that you build up to an extent.

The latest on Cayenne (Capsaicin)

Dig Dis Sci. 2008 Dec 3. [
Sensory Denervation Reduces Visceral Hypersensitivity in Adult Rats Exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Stress: Evidences of Neurogenic Inflammation.
Chen JH, Wei SZ, Chen J, Wang Q, Liu HL, Gao XH, Li GC, Yu WZ, Chen M, Luo HS.

Division Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, People's Republic of China.

The purpose of this study is to provide evidence of neurogenic inflammation in chronic unpredictable stressed rats with the changes of visceral sensitivity, number of mast cells, and close proximity among mast cell-nerve-blood vessels. We found that (1) capsaicin denervation blocked stress-induced increase of visceral sensitivity, while doxantrazole presented a partial blocking; (2) capsaicin denervation blocked stress-induced enhancement of the proximity of mast cell-nerve fiber-blood vessels and blood vessel damage, while doxantrazole showed no effects on these; (3) doxantrazole blocked stress-induced increases of the MPO activity, the number and the degranulation of mast cells in the colon; (4) sensory denervation and doxantrazole had no effects on stress-induced behavioral inhibition. These results suggest that capsaicin-sensitive sensory fibers play a key role in stress-induced visceral hypersensitivity and the ultrastructural changes, mast cells play an important role in the generation of stress-induced colon inflammation.