G.Leave
Cultivators Club
You know, my pepper-eating for pain control is pretty unscientific - I just tend to notice that when I'm having days or spans of time when my bodyache/arthritis-type pain is kicking up, if I end up eating Indian during those times those bodyaches and whatnot tend to be a lot less noticeable. As far as what types of peppers, it varies. I just kinda shop by eye. We have a nice Asian market near us so I use everything from Jalapenos, to Thai peppers...whatever they have that looks good to me at the time, I'll throw into what I'm making. I dunno how into spicy food you are - but you know how some peppers give you that sort of slow burn, and others give you that "holy shit I just swallowed red hot needles what have I done?" kinda heat? For me, the latter are the ones that really knock down the pain for me. Part of it is taking my mind off the bodyaches by setting my mouth on fire, and then the lovely dopamine and endorphins kick in and go to work on the pain too.
Thai chilies, bird chilies, etc. Stuff in the 50k-150k scoville unit range. I don't really have a super high tolerance for spice, so none of the really stupid hot ones (habaneros and upwards) are really necessary for me. If you're not a regular spicy-food eater, I'd just work up little by little - make some spicy-ass chili, then kick it up more, and more, etc. Sometimes I make my curries so hot that I have to eat my dinner in stages. It becomes so painful I physically can't eat another spoonful. But I feel really damn good afterwards, lol.
As for turmeric - another cool thing about the Asian market is they have fresh turmeric. It's great for tea. Slice it/grate it/mash it, whatever, then steep in some hot water with a slice of ginger and some honey, and you're golden. I find that it doesn't so much take you out of pain like a painkiller would - but it does reduce inflammation/muscle tightness, etc. Like, if you're having a rough week because your neck or back is all tight or inflamed, get yourself a cup of turmeric tea a few times a day, and you should notice a change, you know? You could even add some canna oil to the tea, or make turmeric infused bhang. Though if you don't have access to fresh, dried is just as good.
Hope this is what you were wondering/looking for - I'm kinda loopy and rambling right now (sleep dep, wheee!) but if you need any more info just holler and I'll do what I can to clarify!
Thank you...exactly what I was looking for! I have to start hitting the spice and see what happens, and pay attention to how I feel afterwards. This season we grew red chilis, jalepeno, and tried the ultra hot scorpion peppers for the first time. Flowering was too late on the scorpions so we only got 2 peppers. Next year I think I will get a few other varieties to try. Variety is the spice of life
Hope the new hip is working out well!
