What is Homeopathic Medicine?
Homeopathic medicine has been around for centuries. While it certainly has its detractors, the fact it has persisted shows the importance of treating your body with natural ingredients
In essence, homeopathy is a medical system based on the belief that your body can cure itself. By supporting your body with certain supplements and using certain ingredients to trigger its natural healing process, you can ensure you’re being treated and healed in the most natural way possible.
Homeopathic medicines use tiny amounts of natural substances like plants and minerals. The belief is they stimulate the healing process. While this type of practice can date back to Dr. Samuel Hahnemann in the late 1700s. Dr. Hahnemann was from Germany and believed in the phrase “like cures like.”
By this, Dr. Hahnemann believes something that brings on symptoms in a healthy person can – in small doses – treat an illness with similar symptoms. These small doses are meant to trigger our body’s natural defense mechanisms.
For example, it is well known that red onions make your eyes water. Because of this, many homeopathic allergy remedies use a diluted red onion ingredient.
Other ingredients that are often used in homeopathic medicine include capsaicin, poison ivy, white arsenic, crushed whole bees, and arnica.
Medical professionals who work with homeopathic medicines believe that the lower the dose, the more powerful the medicine.
The belief is that the key to homeopathy is weakening the ingredients so patients get it in the small doses that are necessary for the optimal effect. This is accomplished by adding water or alcohol and shaking the mixture up as part of the “potentization” process.
This process results in most of the remedies no longer containing any molecules of the original substance. These remedies can come in a variety of forms:
- Sugar pellets
- Liquid drops
- Creams
- Gels
- Tablets
With the various ingredients and forms, homeopathic medicines are also used to treat a wide range of symptoms, including but not limited to:
- Allergies
- Migraines
- Depression
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Premenstrual Syndrome
- Minor issues like:
- Bruises
- Scrapes
- Toothaches
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Coughs
- Colds
Why the Best Homeopathic Medicines Use Capsaicin
Capsaicin is the active component in chili peppers and happens to have many analgesic properties. It is the component in chili peppers that gives off spice and heat when included in food.
The reason capsaicin works so well in homeopathic medicine is the fact that it activates the TRPV1 receptor. We will get back to that later in the article.
Let’s start by listing the many benefits that capsaicin brings.
Powerful pain-relieving properties: When applied to the skin, capsaicin activates the previously mentioned TRPV1 receptor. By doing this, it reduces the amount of Substance P in your body. Substance P is a neuropeptide produced by the body that travels to the brain to signal pain. When less Substance P is produced, pain signals can no longer reach the brain and feelings of pain decrease.
Metabolism-boosting properties: Due to its nature with chili peppers, capsaicin helps increase the amount of heat your body produces. This, in turn, makes you burn more calories per day through a process called diet-induced thermogenesis.
Reduce hunger: The capsaicin in hot peppers is thought to help reduce hunger. In a study that was conducted, those taking capsaicin supplements ate 10% less while those who drank capsaicin-containing beverages ate 16% less.
Improve digestive health: Capsaicin has shown to boost your stomach’s defense against infection, increase digestive fluid products and help deliver enzymes to the stomach. It does this by stimulating the nerves in the stomach that signal for protection against injury. Because of all these properties, capsaicin has also been said to reduce the risk of stomach ulcers.
May improve psoriasis: Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears as red, itchy, and scaly skin. Capsaicin creams have been shown to help reduce the itching and improve the appearance of the affected area.
Slow the growth of cancer cells: While more conclusive research is needed, capsaicin has shown promise in cancer research by attacking many different pathways in the cancer cell growth process. Studies have shown capsaicin can slow the growth of cancer cells and even cause cell death in prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and skin cancer. However, these current findings are only based on animal and laboratory studies.
Improve blood sugar levels: Taking capsaicin daily has been shown to improve patient’s blood sugar levels. In studies where insulin levels are monitored, those taking capsaicin maintained a more consistent level of insulin compared to those in a placebo group.
Summary
Capsaicin is one of the most well-known and effective homeopathic ingredients. By triggering the TRPV1 receptor and releasing Substance P, capsaicin has many benefits and uses.
Capsiva spent years perfecting our secret capsaicin blend used in our pain relief gel. By blocking the pain signals from reaching your brain, Capsiva promotes healthy blood flow and reduces inflammation.