Keep Your Feet Warm with Cayenne Powder

chili pepper powder

Cayenne was rumored to have been used in ancient times as an effective foot warmer. Back in 1987, the San Diego Chargers gave it a try when they faced the Denver Broncos on their home turf; it was mid-December in what to the Chargers must have felt like a very frigid Mile High Stadium. Whether this rumor spread by NBC announcer Jimmy Cefalo was true or not, chili powder would surely have helped by both heating the team’s feet and quite possibly numbing them to pain. Cayenne has well-documented pain-killing and heating capacity. The next time you’re planning to be out and about in the cold, consider sprinkling a little cayenne pepper powder in your socks to keep your feet warm and dry all day.

Be cautious about how much cayenne pepper you use when you sprinkle the powder in your socks. If you are the kind of person who is sensitive to peppers, test out a bit of cayenne on your feet the day before your big ski trip. Some people mix cayenne with regular foot powder or corn starch to turn the mix into a dual-purpose foot dryer and foot warmer. The standard ratio is 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne powder stirred into 1oz of foot powder. Sprinkle a teaspoon into your socks and scrunch the sock a bit to distribute the powder before putting your foot in for the day.

 

For More Information on Chili Pepper

Chili-Folio-3D-Cover-noshadow-432For more information on Chili Pepper, purchase a copy of The Practical Herbalist’s Herbal Folio: Chili Pepper: Naturally Hot Herbal Medicine. This Herbal Folio contains expanded information, including:

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  • Animal Husbandry
  • Household Formulas
  • History, Folklore, Myth, and Magic
  • Cautions
  • Recipes
  • Quick Facts
  • References

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