[Classic on a number of levels.  The number one herbal medicine, and herbalists have know for over 100 years it is a remedy for curing cancer, yet they aren't allowed to say so (see).  To see the whole revealing story read Dr Richard Shulze.   Note how they use the word chilli, not cayenne, the term used by herbalists.
    research discovered---  Actually over 100 years ago.
    long been used in traditional remedies to treat colds and flu ---And cancer, heart disease, and so on, but wouldn't want to mention the big drug earners.
    after it was discovered that it shrinks tumours.  Shrinking tumours is all they have to do to get pharma drugs on the market, hardly the same as curing cancer.
    one day they will be able to use the ingredient to develop drugs to target the cancers.  Wont get a patent otherwise, the only reason to turn it into a drug, but you are meant to think doing that is the only way they can use it.  Certainly the only way they will let Allopaths use it, wouldn't look good to use them naturally and give out the idea that Herbalism is better than Allopathy!]

"If you master only one herb in your life, master cayenne pepper. It is more powerful than any other."   -- - Dr. Richard SCHULZE, Medical Herbalist

NEW SUPERFOOD CURE FOR CANCER

Daily Express 20 Nov 2006

CHILLI pepper was last night hailed as the world's latest superfood after research discovered that it helps to fight cancer.

The spicy ingredient has long been used in traditional remedies to treat colds and flu as well as to help relieve nasal congestion.

But now leading scientists hope the "hot" part of the chilli, the capsaicin, could be much more widely used by doctors with dramatically positive consequences.

They believe it could successfully treat millions of patients with pancreatic and prostate cancer after it was discovered that it shrinks tumours.

Researchers made the major breakthrough after finding that, the hottest chilli component may be able to "burn" prostate cancer cells.

They are working on a way to shrink prostate cancer after tests on mice fed with peppers saw their tumours dramatically reduce in size and the cancers' development slowed. The research which led to the breakthrough was carried out at the University of California. Another study at the University of Pittsburgh has found that capsaicin also helped to kill off pancreatic cancer cells. Now the teams hope that one day they will be able to use the ingredient to develop drugs to target the cancers.

The dramatic findings are being studied by experts in the hope that the use of the chilli pepper ingredient can also be used to fight other cancers. Dr Soren Lehmann, of the University of California, said: "Capsaicin had a profound anti-proliferative effect on human prostate cancer cells in culture.

"It also dramatically slowed the development of prostate tumours formed by those human cell lines grown in mouse models."

Although for most people the chilli is nothing more than an essential part of a takeaway curry, the research has shown that it has a vast array of medical benefits. It has been found to help with ailments including asthma and arthritis as well as boosting the immune system and cutting cholesterol.

Chilli is the latest food to be hailed for its health benefits along with blueberries, pomegranates, kale, spinach and beetroot.

More than 200 scientific tests on chilli are underway based on either the effect of eating it or how capsaicin can be used separately as a treatment, often as a cream. Dave Dewitt, founding director of the Chilli Pepper  Institute  at  New Mexico University,   said:   "Chillies are a remarkable food that have significant medical uses.

"The main one is as a painkiller when used as a cream, and it has been proved to help with illnesses such as arthritis, shingles and skin complaints.

"Eating chillies is also a preventative measure for stopping stomach ulcers from developing.

"They are also crammed with vitamin C when green and vitamin A when red."

Dr Ann Walker, an expert in human nutrition at Reading University, said: "Chilli is a food that people overlook but it really can boost the body in many ways.

"When it is used in a cream it is fantastic for chronic back pain and there is a lot of evidence that it can help with skin conditions such as psoriasis, by reducing the itchiness, and also digestive problems."

Chilli is also believed to reduce cholesterol levels alter studies found that cultures which use a large quantity had significantly lower rates of strokes and heart attacks.

Researchers in Thailand found that people who ate large amounts had fewer problems with blood clots.

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital also believe chilli could help to find a cure for arthritis after they discovered that the peppers and the illness trigger pain in the same way.

They believe that, if they can stop the chemicals which cause the pain, they will be able to stop the inflammation caused by arthritis.

Capsaicin cream is already being used for some arthritis suffers.

Chilli has also been used to help people lose weight because it increases the metabolic rate, meaning that people who have eaten chillies burn more calories.

It also has the effect of curbing appetite because the chilli makes the body release endorphins which make you feel satisfied and less hungry.

The chilli, which is becoming increasingly easy to grow in Britain with our warmer summers and milder winters, has also received celebrity endorsements.

Food writer Tom Parker Bowles, Camilla's son, describes it as his favourite food - so much so that he travelled to New Mexico to fuel his  interest. "Your blood vessels dilate, your heart beats more quickly and you start to sweat when you have a chilli," he said. "The endorphins release a slight giddiness and euphoria. To me, chilli is a superfood."

Singer Kylie Minogue also reportedly drank a chilli-based supplement after being advised by nutritionists as she fought against breast cancer.