It's not the heat, and it's not the humidity – it's the spiciness.

It’s not the heat, and it’s not the humidity – it’s the spiciness.

In the e-Alert “El Caliente” (11/14/07), I told you about an experimental drug called Adlea, which contains ultra-purified capsaicin, the phytochemical that makes chili peppers almost unbearably spicy. Studies show that Adlea may prove to be an effective but nonaddictive painkiller for patients who undergo major surgeries.

But I was slightly off the mark on one point, as an HSI member named Tom wrote to point out: “Just a note, in the interest of correct usage of Spanish – ‘Caliente’ means ‘hot’ in the thermal sense. What you wanted was ‘picante,’ which means ‘hot’ in the spicy sense.”

Good to know – picante it is.

Another note, from a member named Carl, contains some information about different peppers, as well as a couple of picante health tips:

“Adlea seems like an excellent product to alleviate or eliminate pain. Not all chilies have enough capsaicin to have effect on pain. Bell pepper, cubanelle, poblano and a few others have zero to 2,000 units of heat on the electronic scale originated by Scoville. Jalapenos may have 5,000-9,000 units, apple chilies may have 10,000, scotch bonnets may have 100,000 and habaneros have 300,000 units. In India the red savina was recently tested at one million Scoville units.

“There is a book named ‘The Whole Chili Pepper Book’ which tells more about this. There is also a book ‘Curing With Cayenne’ which tells of lifesaving uses for capsaicin. At the pharmacy there is a topical cream named Capzaicin that has hot stuff in it, but I am not convinced it has an effect on anything except the skin. DMSO has been proven to penetrate every membrane of the body – so, I add habanero sauce to DMSO to carry the hot capsaicin into the joints and muscles. As the star of ‘Hunter’ TV series said – ‘works for me.'”

For those unfamiliar with DMSO, this is a natural solvent that helps the skin absorb topical preparations.

“Curing With Cayenne” and “The Whole Chili Pepper Book” can both be found on Amazon.