Tagged: chillies

Chilli tincture

On the left is the 10-days of infusing and the right shows just as I’d put them together. That good change in colour shows that the constituents from the chillies are moving into the alcohol solution and, I’m pretty sure that were I to taste it, I would know that at least some of the properties of the chilli are in the alcohol!!! Ho-o-o-o-ot!

More fun in the kitchen with raw chillies!

Lots of chopping and really keen awareness of not rubbing eyes, noses or anything else! Last time I did this, even after washing my hands, I blew my nose and ended up with chilli burn up my nose!!!! Not to be recommended…

Many of the prescriptions I make are in the form of tinctures. These alcohol extractions are easy to blend, simple to take and quick and easy for the patient. Compliance is often better than with teas.

When I use chilli tincture in a prescription

If you think about what chilli does, it gets the blood moving, it warms you up and it clears the head. But, it’s likely that the main reason would be to create some stimulating action in the patient. There are a dozen reasons why someone might benefit from a proverbial kick up the bottom and chilli can do just that. Because of its heat, it’s moving. When things begin to move more in the body, other things can start to change.

There are physiological benefits but I’m often thinking about the energies in the body as well. If you have become really stuck in a rut of symptoms, then, especially if you really feel the cold, a dose of chilli can be just what you need to get things moving.

It’s not for everyone. Some people simply can’t tolerate the heat of it. And it would be disastrous in someone with peri-menopausal hot flushes for fairly obvious reasons – you don’t give a hot person more heat!

But, when it is right for you, it can feel like heaven and earth are moving, slowly, in the right direction. Finally!

Chilli oil

Watching the colours change

The jar on the left was immediately after putting the oil and chillies together. The jar on the right is after they have been infusing for just 10 days! What an incredible change in colour.

Chilli oil. Sounds yummy, right? But, I’m not making it for oral consumption! What do I use it for in my practice? Well, it goes particuarly nicely in creams for conditions such as arthritis and psoriasis.

Chilli is what’s called a rubefacient and we deliberately use those properties to stimulate a healing response from the body.

rubefacient [ roo-buhfey-shuhnt ]

adjective causing redness of the skin, as a medicinal application.

noun: Medicine/Medical. a rubefacient application, as a mustard plaster.

Nettle stings are a rubefacient. Now, I can imagine that you are wincing at the thought of a deliberate application of nettles… yes, it’s not fun, but what does it do and why do some people choose to do it?

The essential purpose behind it from a herbalist’s point of view, is to stimulate circulation. When you stimulate circulation, you bring nutrients in the form of oxygen and all the other goodies in your blood and you take away all the waste such as by- products of inflammation.

So, you see, there is method in the apparent madness…

Nettle stings are a traditional rubefacient for arthritic joints – and many swear by it. The Romans were reputed to use them to warm themselves when in cold, damp Britain. Anecdotally, I know the wife of a man who fell into a patch of nettles, was horrendously stung all over but has never had his severe and stubborn hayfever again. (That’s definitely not worth trying at home – it’s hardly a clinical trial – but is still a great story)

Contact me if you would like to make an appointment for your arthritic joints or psoriatic skin.