02/28/2019 / By Zoey Sky
Cayenne peppers (Capsicum annuum) have an impressive nutrient profile and they are often used to flavor various dishes. But did you know that preppers also use cayenne peppers to make an herbal salve that can help keep their feet warm? (h/t to AskAPrepper.com)
Keeping your feet warm is crucial to long-term foot health. But as you get older, the circulation in your feet can decline. To remedy this, preppers use cayenne salve keep their feet warm during cold days.
Instead of buying cayenne salve at your local pharmacy or supermarket, it’s cheaper to make your own. A DIY cayenne salve can be also used to ease back and neck pain. This remedy works by warming the muscles and loosening them up.
Cayenne salve works the same way on your feet. If you don’t have cayenne peppers on hand, you can use other kinds of chili peppers that contain capsaicin.
Do take note that you need to be careful about using peppers that are too high on the Scoville scale because they might burn your skin. Meanwhile, peppers on the low end of the scale might not be hot enough to produce an effective salve.
Alternatively, you can use homemade peppers to make the cayenne salve. Just dry the peppers first on a dehydrator or in the oven to remove all water, then use a grinder to turn them to cayenne powder.
If you don’t want to apply cayenne powder to your feet, you can eat hot peppers to stay warm. Consuming hot peppers helps warm up your whole body because they contain the active ingredient capsaicin.
Capsaicin gives hot peppers their medicinal properties. This active ingredient also gives peppers their hot taste. How hot a cayenne pepper tastes depends on its capsaicin content. The more capsaicin a cayenne pepper contains, the hotter it is.
Additionally, capsaicin makes your blood vessels to dilate, which results in extra blood flow that provides warmth to your hands and feet. While some people feel the effect immediately, others can feel the heat increase over time.
Hot peppers are also nutritious. They contain many anti-inflammatories, antioxidants, and vitamins.
The quickest way to use hot pepper to warm up is to sprinkle a bit of cayenne pepper powder directly on your feet. Alternatively, you can also add some powder into your socks.
You can control the amount of cayenne powder that you spread on your feet by combining the powder with a small amount of cornstarch. Start with 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 1/4 cup of cornstarch or foot powder. Mix it well and add a teaspoon of the mixture into each sock.
Gently move the sock around to evenly distribute the powder. Alternatively, you could also shake the powder evenly onto your feet from a sifter or a shaker jar. Applying powder directly to your feet will help keep your feet warm and dry. Use this method on a cold, wet day, or if you’re working outdoors on a snowy day. (Related: Foot care: An often forgotten practice when SHTF.)
To make your own cayenne pepper salve, you’ll need a crockpot, an eight-ounce Mason jar, and a small heatproof jar. You’ll use these tools to infuse the oil and melt the beeswax.
Ingredients:
Guidelines for using cayenne pepper
Make your own cayenne pepper salve if you need a natural pain reliever that can also keep you warm on a cold day.
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