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Comment by rubenhak | Hacker News Reader

That’s an interesting apporoach. Maybe next time I have lower-back pain, I’d wrap habanero peppers around my back.

My mother has been eating large amounts of of hot fresh chillies with every meal for the last decade and has noted a huge improvement in her arthritis pain, to the point where if she travels and forgets to take chillies with her, the pain seems to return swiftly.

It may be psychosomatic, but the benefits to her seem to have been huge, for an incredibly low cost and risk.

It's unfortunate that pain is so damn complex. It seems possible that repeatedly oral exposure to capsaicin results in long-term neurological consequences (for better or worse) in addition to the local effects which are regularly discussed. But hey I'm no scientist.

What is a large amount?

Is it the quantity of chilli peppers that are eaten that is important on the heat of the pepper? So 4 weak chillis is the same as eating one very spicy pepper?

Bit anecdotal, but if I eat a tablespoon of Pepper X with other food, I do feel a general numbing of pain for a while after.

Very spicy foods cause you to release endorphins.

I say large amounts, I really mean 'the amount of fresh chilli that would easily heat a curry or chilli con carne for 2 or 3 adults'.

Some meals she'll sprinkle them on, some she'll just eat before or after her meal. She's not a massive fan of spicy foods but the benefits mean that she's carried on with this. I think she read it in an article a year or so before she started - and then ended up with some chillies in the fridge and decided to eat them before they went bad and found a positive impact pretty quickly.

As I say, might all be psychosomatic, but she's happy ;)

You can buy patches that contain capsicum. Or more old-school, ointments.

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