The hot red pepper... everyone's talking about it. It's the blood pressure barometer, heart healer, circulatory cleanser and headache helper.

The hot red pepper is a hot topic.. .everyone's talking about it. It's the blood pressure barometer, heart healer, circulatory cleanser, and headache helper. It has been covered in magazines, newspapers, and television news throughout the country And if you read scientific journals, then you have certainly run across one of 4,000 abstracts in print. So what would make a Manitowoc, WI, businessman devote one year of his life to conduct independent research on cayenne? Surely he had read all the facts. What secrets did he hope to uncover?

Paul A. Stitt, M.S., C.N.S., says he set out to study cayenne strictly for humanitarian reasons. You see, Manitowoc (population 34,000) has the highest rates of gastrointestinal distress, cancer, heart trouble, and obesity in Wisconsin. " I saw my friends, neighbors and even my employees suffering. I had read about cayenne's promising characteristics, but I remained skeptical. I thought I'd try it in this town to see if it really made a difference", Stitt explains.

Stitt is owner of Essential Nutrient Research Corporation (ENRECO) and Natural Ovens of Manitowoc. Through his
work he has conducted extensive research, but never for such a philanthropic cause. In 1995, Stitt embarked on a six-month rudimentary research project. His first step was to find test participants. Employees drew some volunteers, but local newspapers and radio stations rallied the rest. Within days of Stitt's public introduction, 3,000 men, women and children contacted Stitt, seeking relief. Some complained of poor digestion while others suffered from cold hands and feet. One small child was severely ill from migraine headaches, and a young woman desperately wanted to avoid back surgery.

Stitt selected these individuals and others with sufficiently serious health problems. He placed all 576 participants in seven categories: Circulation, Cold Hands/Feet, Stomach Distress (excluding Ulcers and Hiatal Hernias), Ulcers, Hiatal Hernias, Migraines and Headaches. If someone suffered from more than one health problem, he or she was placed in more than one category.

Participants were instructed to:

· Take one to three cayenne capsules (30,000 Heating Units) per day on an empty stomach with a full glass of water, followed by fruit and a slice of whole-grain bread.
· Drink eight to ten glasses of water a day
· Avoid all dairy products if possible,
since dairy forms a curd and may prevent cayenne absorption.
· Consume 10 grams of flax a day in a drink mix or in bread.
Return at least once by June 1995 with a written, dated notation assessing progress concerning health problem(s).

This self-reporting technique would make even a rookie scientist shudder, but Stitt is not concerned. "I never intended for this to be a double-blind, placebo study I just wanted to help people. If participants even thought their health was improved, and as a result they gained greater peace of mind, then I have done my job," he says
.
As individuals returned with their health journals, Stitt graded their results. He divided the results into categories of M for Mild, S for Severe, GW for Getting Worse, N/C for No Change and I for Improving. Test results were formatted, graphs were developed, and the results were mailed to the test group.

Stitt found that "Cayenne has a positive and definite effect on ulcers, stomach distress, hiatal hernia, and circulation problems, but the extent is difficult to quantify. Shortcomings of this study include the fact that the people were self-selected and self-diagnosed. But this study provides sufficient evidence to go forward with a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in a research setting. Future studies should make sure the subjects consume sufficient water and omega-3 to support the healing system, and sufficiently low dairy products to not retard the absorption of the cayenne".

The test results were an eye-opener to Manitowoc County, but they merely validated what Stitt had already read. Rob McCaleb ("Cayenne Pepper is a Medicinal Plant," Food Science & Nutrition, 1990), writes "Capsicum [Latin name for cayenne] benefits the gastrointestinal tract, the cardiovascular system, thermoregulation, and has nutritional impacts' M.N. Sathanarayanna, B.Sc., and V.S. Govindarajan ("Hypo-cholesterolemic effect of red pepper and capsaicin," Indian I. Ext. Biol., December 1991) state, "Capsaicin is a safe and potentially useful drug for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the hands".
"My research didn't reveal anything that hasn't already been disclosed," Stitt concedes. "But what I did prove is that regular people living regular lives can help themselves. They don't need drugs dispensed from an M.D., or sophisticated laboratory-controlled studies to give them the O.K. They need knowledge and experience".

Putting the data to work
Besides the satisfaction of helping people, how did Stitt benefit from the six-month trial? It certainly did not affect his business. He soon concluded that there are no financial incentives or marketing opportunities tied to cayenne. It is readily available over-the-counter and sells for a very low price.

Stitt says he attempted to add cayenne to his breads, hoping to add nutritional punch to his vitamin-filled loaves, but it wreaked havoc with his products. "Cayenne absolutely destroyed my bread. It ruined the consistency and I found I could add only miniscule amounts before the taste of the bread became too hot". He has settled for selling $10 bags of cayenne from his bakery wholesale shop. He also takes every opportunity to enlighten customers on the pepper's health advantages before they leave his store.

Has Stitt modified his personal life? You bet. Not a day goes by without Stitt taking at least three cayenne capsules. He claims his heart works more efficiently, his circulation has improved, and he believes that cayenne is a tremendous anti-aging supplement. Cayenne also has no side effects, Stitt says.

Stitt uses cayenne as his first response to cuts. Every first aid kit in Stitt's home and businesses contains cayenne capsules. Employees are instructed to crack open a capsule at the first sign of blood to clot the blood and cleanse the wound. "Cayenne is one of the best antiseptics around. Heck, the Indians have been using it for eons. It just took us 500 years to catch on," he chuckles.

Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes cayenne's healing power, but has only approved its use in topical creams. Stitt finds this fact appalling, especially after his research. "It is disgusting that the government spends tremendous amounts of money and people's time researching cayenne, but never allows companies to promote cayenne's healing powers. Surely they can't dispute their own testing".

Will Stitt take his cayenne test on the road? Definitely not. He's simply content that his neighbors and friends are improving their health. They still purchase cayenne, and their well-being is all the reward Stitt needs. Plus, Manitowoc can now boast about having the largest cayenne consumption in the United States, outside of Texas. And according to Stitt, this is quite a coup d'etat.

Susan Reinfeldt isa free-lance writer specializing in managed care legislation and healthcare. She has a bachelor's degree in marketing from St. Thomas University in St. Paul, MN. She has worked as a journalist for 11 years.