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| Latin name aculeatus means thorny or spiny. The fleshy rootstock is the part used medicinally. |
| Widely prescribed in Europe to relieve circulatory disorders, butcher's broom has both vasoconstrictive (blood vessel narrowing) and anti-inflammatory properties. Butcher's broom preparations are especially popular for improving circulation in the legs ("heavy legs") and for treating hemorrhoids, phlebitis, post-thrombotic syndrome, chilblains, varicose veins and varicose ulcers. As Daniel Mowrey reported in Herbal Tonic Therapies, "Dramatic improvement in both subjective and objective measures is often observed within days." |
| Toxicity studies have shown no adverse side effects other than occasional nausea or gastritis even at high doses. European butcher's broom preparations are sold in U.S. health food stores. Follow label directions. |
| Cayenne or Chile Peppers (Capsicum Annuum) |
| Hot peppers bring the dullest dish to life, warm the mind and bodyand when you swallow an unusually hot specimen, choke on the fumes of a freshly cut jalapeño or, even worse, touch your eye after chopping one, they can be the most irritating vegetables on the planet. No wonder their name derives from the Greek word meaning "to bite." |
| How hot is hot? The capsaicin content of peppers is measured on a scale of from 0 for sweet bell peppers to 350,000 for habañero or Scotch bonnet peppers. Ten thousand heat units is mildly spicy and 50,000 units tastes hot to most American palates. Anything over 100,000 is seriously hot. |
| Only recently have scientists discovered how heal- |
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