Guy,
     I will speak on the subject of homeopathic uses for the chile and leave 
others to answer the rest of your of your questions.

As to chile being a cure for your cold....  "In Hot Pursuits" by Amal Naj, 
there is quite a bit of interest in chiles for the treatment of breathing 
ailments.  Dt. Irwin Zimet gained a lot of attention by noting that chile 
consumption has quite an increase in mucous production.  Most of the 
common cough syrups on the market contain an ingredient called 
"guafenesein" (sp) which is a synthetic version of capsaicin.  It is used to 
boost mucous production.  Chiles are also loaded with Vitamins A & C in 
addition to bioflavinoids.  Dried chiles loose some of the "C" but as a result 
gain in "A".  The effect of Vitamin C on the common cold is well discussed 
elsewhere.  Other uses for chiles include being a rubifacient which is a 
fancy term for causing increased circulation (reddening) to a localized 
site.  Most arthritis creams on the market are now taking advantage of 
this, using capsaicin as an ingredient to help circulation and warming.  
Chiles are also known to increase fibrolytic activity which is another 
fancy term used to mean that they cause the blood to clot.  Chile powder 
placed on a small cut is said to stop the bleeding almost immediately.  
Homeopathicaly chiles are also said to normalize blood pressure and are 
one of the most versatile treatments there are for a wide variety of 
ailments.  Research is being done as to the ability of chiles to cure ulcers 
of all things by their ability to cause a thickening of the stomach lining and 
thus make it less susceptible to injury.  Chiles also increase the bodys' 
metabolic rate.  You will note that upon eating a Hab the first (okay 
second) thing you do is start sweating profusely and breathing fast.  Your 
body has been cranked up a notch or two.  Most of the natural weight loss 
formulas on the market take advantage of this by including hot pepper in 
their ingredients to help the body burn calories faster.  Hot peppers are 
also being researched as an anesthetic.  Repeated exposure to a site to 
capsaicin renders the site numb because of capsaicins' ability to attract 
and then destroy "substance P" which is the chemical nerve carrier the 
body uses to transmit pain signals to the brain.  The fact the peppers can 
selectively destroy this carrier is the cause fo much interest in the 
medical community.  

I could go on a bit more but this is getting rather lengthy and I doubt that 
most people have read to this point anyway.  I hope that this has at least 
answered part of your question.

Jim Campbell
Mild to Wild Pepper & Herb Co.

