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interesting thought

so I was wondering, when you get sick, does eating plenty of peppers reduce the length of the time you are sick or does it kinda clear it up fast, or does it make it worse.

the reason I got this thought is cuz I got a cold right now and I found my dried peppers stash, and I was thinking, if I eat Brain Strain or one of the super hots would it make me get over being sick earlier, because I am getting tired of my sinuses draining down the back of my throat and making it dry and making me cough a lot, and my nose is always dripping and I constantly blowing my nose...

any feedback on this idea would be welcome! :D
 
Try it and see. :D

I really can't see it doing much but make your nose run more! Vitimin c content might help i dunno.
 
I might actually help at some degree. if you have an accumulation, it might reduce it a little and by doing so reducing that uncomfortable pressure feeling. IT IS NOT a miracle drug. chiles do contain many vitamins including vitamin c, so eating them will probably help prevent this from even happening.

Feel well.
 
Vitamin C for colds/flu is an old wives' tale imo, research has never really shown much if any benefit from it, you should probably be taking vitamin D though. Living in Alaska you're probably deficient year around because of the angle of the sunlight you receive and vitamin D (it's not actually a vitamin, closer to a hormone) plays a strong role in immune function, among many other things.

Vitamin D in the form of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D is a potent immune system modulator. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed by most cells of the immune system, including T cells and antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells and macrophages (6). Under some circumstances, macrophages also produce the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1-hydroxylase enzyme that converts 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (7). There is considerable scientific evidence that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D has a variety of effects on immune system function, which may enhance innate immunity and inhibit the development of autoimmunity (8).

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminD/

Vitamin D deficiency is at least a major reason, if not the primary reason why colds and flu are so seasonal (overwhelmingly in the winter). http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-to-more-2009-02-23 You can have your 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels checked at the doctor, but they're probably low unless you spent a lot of time outside with skin exposed 1-2 months ago.

I take 5,000 IUs of vitamin D3 3-4 times a week in the winter and I never get sick, and it costs me about $5 a year. I was always very prone to bronchitis before I started this (I got it about 2-3x a year). I don't take it in the summer because a healthy person's skin can produce 10s of thousands of IUs in a relatively short exposure at normal latitudes, and I spend a lot of time outside.

As far as capsaicin goes, it has been about 7-8 years since I've had a cold or flu and I didn't really eat much spicy food back then so I don't know if it helps when you're sick, but it definitely seems to me to be good for hangovers. It will clear out your sinuses at least. :mouthonfire: :dance:
 
I believe it helps. I haven't had the flu in the 5 years I have been seriously eating hot a lot. It has been 5 years since I made my flu chili. All it was, was chili that was hellishly hot. 2 bowls a day for 2 days and the flu would be gone(sweat out my eyebrows probably).
 
go through all the BS of getting REAL pseudofed at the pharmacy imo it always makes me feel less crappy when i get sick. it took me a half hour wait to get some last time i got sick.

avon, ive heard a bunch of stuff about vitamin d as well, almost seems to good to be true. Did you ever listen to the security now podcast wherein they talk about vitamin D?
http://twit.tv/sn209
 
Vitamin C for colds/flu is an old wives' tale imo, research has never really shown much if any benefit from it, you should probably be taking vitamin D though. Living in Alaska you're probably deficient year around because of the angle of the sunlight you receive and vitamin D (it's not actually a vitamin, closer to a hormone) plays a strong role in immune function, among many other things.

Hey killer,

Biochemically, D is still a vitamin and structurally a steroid.
 
Hey killer,

Biochemically, D is still a vitamin and structurally a steroid.

If you want to get technical vitamin D is a generic term used to refer to a lot of different chemicals, including D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol), which are seco-steroids, and which are metabolized in the body to calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol), the bio-active form of vitamin D, which is a steroid hormone. A steroid hormone is a steroid that functions as a hormone by binding to and activating receptor molecules which regulate gene expression. So the bioactive form of vitamin D is definitely much more like a hormone than a vitamin.
 
avon, ive heard a bunch of stuff about vitamin d as well, almost seems to good to be true. Did you ever listen to the security now podcast wherein they talk about vitamin D?
http://twit.tv/sn209

I just listened to some of it, pretty good. It has definitely worked for me, it has pretty much eliminated colds and flu during the winter, and I've never had a cold or flu in the summer as far as I can remember (maybe when I was a kid). It also ameliorates a lot of the winter blues and allows me to make strength gains in the gym in the winter, when before I would pretty much plateau all winter. I feel a lot better overall in the winter when I take it. The evidence is pretty strong for a lot of the health benefits and the reasons for the common deficiencies make sense. I'm not a natural health quack either, the only health supplements I take are D3 and salmon oil. Everyone's body is different though, what works for me may not necessarily work or work as well for someone else...
 
Eating peppers will give you some benefits, but if you want even more then pick a good hot sauce with apple cider vinegar. ACV has been used for ages for its health benefits to the immune system and many nutraceutical companies make it in capsule form and charge a pretty penny for it. With a sauce, you might also be getting some health benefits from bioflavonoids.....produce like tomato, garlic, fruits etc are common in hot sauces and they each have nutritional benefits.

There is now quite a bit of clinical research coming out on capsaicin and its health related benefits, in particular it has been associated with reduction/elimination of cancerous cells.

Here's an article on the health benefits of hot sauce!

Ohh....and if you gargle with it before sex you'll never catch a STD.
 
If you want to get technical vitamin D is a generic term used to refer to a lot of different chemicals, including D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol), which are seco-steroids, and which are metabolized in the body to calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol), the bio-active form of vitamin D, which is a steroid hormone. A steroid hormone is a steroid that functions as a hormone by binding to and activating receptor molecules which regulate gene expression. So the bioactive form of vitamin D is definitely much more like a hormone than a vitamin.

Maybe I wasn't clear. Under the biochemistry definitions, which I assume you know or will know, it is both. One classification doesn't necessarily exclude the other. And it's alright.
 
it certainly will help.
don't treat it like a drug, and don't over-do it. If you consume something hot enough for slight stomach discomfort then you have overdone it.
chilli has loads of vitamin C in it, and think of all of those warm hearty mince meals, winter soups ect with spice. Spag Bowl ect. This dishes are popular in winter for retaining their temperature, filling you up, and fighting winter sicknesses.

So yeah, it can help, but only a little is needed. enough so you can feel it in your mouth should do the trick.
 
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