Cayenne pepper, aka chili pepper, has many benefits for both people and pets. It’s the spice that gives Mexican food its heat and kick. It was the herb of the year in 2016, and it’s great for dogs!
Cayenne is rich in vitamins A and C. It also supplies micronutrients, flavonoids, copper, iron, potassium, and a host of other B vitamins including B2, B3, and B6.
Besides these nutritional benefits, there are the other benefits of cayenne pepper for your pets.
How Cayenne Can Benefit Your Pet
There are many different ways that cayenne pepper can benefit your pet. The primary ways are:
Topically: applied to the skin, cayenne can do the following:
- Increase circulation to the skin, nerves, and joints.
- Improves the body’s capability to absorb nutrients, prevent inflammation, fight infection, and reduce pain wherever it’s applied.
- Can serve as effective first aid for dogs and cats with scrapes, mouth lacerations, bites, cuts, bleeding nails, and can even stop bleeding on contact.
Orally: when given to your pet in oral form, whether through supplements or powder, it can do the following:
- Oral supplements (or when you add it to food in small doses) will speed up circulatory and digestive reactions.
- A warming effect on the body that will warm your pet’s cold paws and improve the health of their veins.
- In the digestive tract, it will relieve and decrease the effects of constipation, flatulence, gas, diarrhea, and improve the absorption of nutrients.
Situations where these benefits can be useful include:
