Scientists have found that capsaicin can fight muscle and joint pain

If you want to cook a delicious spicy meal, you may have to pay a certain price A lot of people may have paid for this! When you cut the green peppers and pluck the seeds with your bare hands, you will feel unbearable pain The pain is caused by a substance that is soluble in oil called capsaicin Capsaicin has been found in all kinds of Capsicum It's this capsaicin that makes peppers taste so delicious (if you can stand it, of course) ）It is this substance that causes pain in our skin But the good news is that capsaicin doesn't damage tissue If your hands feel like they've been scalded, and the only way to make you feel better is to hold on to the ice bag and not let go, then you may not be so happy with that But further research will take us into a strange world of neurotransmitters, pain signals and brains that think the skin has been swallowed by fire When you eat or touch capsicum, capsaicin particles will penetrate the skin, through the tissue, and touch the deep nerves in the body It sounds a bit technical! Capsaicin acts as a neurotransmitter, binds to and breaks up the capsaicin receptor (VR1) Generally, capsaicin receptors change when the temperature reaches or exceeds 42oc (108of) When capsaicin receptor disintegrates, it will release charged particles, i.e ions, to nerve cells to transmit signals to brain This signal is the same as when the capsaicin receptor senses heat The brain can't tell the difference, so the chilli brings us the same feeling as being burned Now it's time to talk about the most interesting part Scientists have discovered how to turn capsaicin, the swindler who cheats our taste buds, into a hero Pain causing capsaicin can be used to fight muscle and joint pain, such as long-term pain caused by diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis It doesn't seem to make sense, especially when you get Havana chili soda into your fingernails First of all, you need to know that doctors divide pain into two types: physical pain and pathological pain Physical pain is the kind of pain that can be felt very quickly and very intense when we are injured For example, when our hands touch a hot iron pot, we quickly get back the pain Pathological pain is the long-term pain that accumulates slowly This chronic pain will not subside in a short time The nerve conducting pathological pain is not as isolated as the nerve conducting physiological pain, so pathological pain will be transmitted very slowly Pain itself is caused by a protein called substance P Substance P is a neurotransmitter Its appearance indicates the production of pathological pain and stimulates inflammation When capsaicin touches the nerves, it causes all the mediators (substance P) that transmit pathological pain to the pain nerves These substance P will soon run out, and before the new substance P molecules are produced, the nervous system will not be able to conduct pathological pain again - that is, without substance P, there will be no chronic pain In short, when topical capsaicin ointment is applied for 1 to 4 weeks, capsaicin in the ointment can gradually reduce the supply of substance P, and ultimately reduce the persistent pain One drawback of this pain treatment is that the patient has to endure the burning caused by capsaicin And this kind of feeling will not be felt again until their pain limit is raised to a certain extent It will take some time, but it's worth it In the end, patients will experience much less pain That's good, isn't it? But you may not have arthritis, it's just fate that gets you into red pepper, and makes you hope the pain will end soon However, once capsaicin passes through the skin, it is almost impossible for it to seep out of the skin Capsaicin is a kind of tenacious substance It can survive in the oil pot and resist the low temperature, even in the harsh environment of human intestine So, you have to remember not to eat too much capsaicin, otherwise it will be very difficult to excrete! Prevention is the best defense Wear gloves when cutting peppers, or grease your hands before you start After cutting the pepper, wash your hands with soap and water, and spread lemon juice on your skin If you don't take action in time and you're beginning to feel pain, try dipping your hand in oil or vinegar, or holding an ice bag until the pain subsides Don't touch hot things with your hands, because it will break down more capsaicin receptors For you, whether capsaicin is an enemy or a hero, remember that it's the green peppers of Mexico and the Havana peppers that have started the study of pain Whether you can understand the academic issues mentioned above, or whether your passion for spicy food is limited to spicy curry, you should admit that these hot peppers are more complex and valuable than you think.