Hi all, I have an oral presentation to make this week and this is what I've got so far. I'm talking about cap (how it affects the body, it's uses as a medicine and pesticide). I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or corrections to my text. Here goes nothing: When you eat capsaicin, it irritates your trigeminal cells. These are pain receptor cells located throughout the mouth, the nose and the throat. When cap comes in contact with these cells, they immediately send pain messages to your brain. The messages are sent to your brain by a molecule called Substance P. This molecule is released by your nerve cells, but if you often absorb cap, these cells won't react in a normal way; your brain won't get the pain messages anymore. That means you won't feel the heat from cap as much as you did before. If, however, you're not acquainted to cap, your brain easily receives these signals and will start releasing endorphins, the natural painkiller of the body. Endorphins will make a temporary feeling of euphoria, like a natural high. Capsaicin also increases the heart rate in order to increase the metabolism, like when you cut yourself, and increases sweating to cool down the body. Your salivation will go to high speed to try to refresh the mouth and the throat and your nose will start to run. There is a common concern regarding capsaicin that says it can cause ulcers, but there's absolutely no proof of that. Furthermore, it's been proven that eating capsaicin can protect against ulcers. There also was a research that said that capsaicin could cause cancer if you eat too much of it, but if you look at the quantities of pepper you would have to eat to get a 50% chance of getting cancer, it's just impossible. If you take Tabasco peppers, you would have to eat around 15 lbs of them every day for a month. Actually, capsaicin is anti-carcinogenic effects; it can prevent cancer. The medical uses of cap are often related to pain delivers. Creams are made from cap to combat the pain from arthritis, as well as shingles, psoriasis, asthma, minor muscle aches, backache, bruises, strains, sprains and skin disorders like severe burns. Capsaicin is also an anticoagulant that helps prevent from having a heart attack or a stroke and that treats headaches. Capsaicin is also used on veterinary sutures to prevent pets from pulling them out with their teeth. Capsaicin is used as a natural pesticide. They are doing some paint with capsaicin as an ingredient to use on boats or on places where insects often live since they can't resist the heat. You can also add capsaicin to birdseeds since squirrels can't support the heat but birds won't feel it at all. There are sprays to keep away dogs, cats, squirrels and raccoons from garbage cans, gardens, lawns, and landscaped areas. As an insecticide, you can apply capsaicin with a spray around structures to keep ants and cockroaches from getting inside the house. Also, coating fiber-optic cables with the chemical could prevent rodents from gnawing on them. Thank you, Jocelyn _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com