Roughly 39 million Americans battle migraines at some point during their lives.
And, more than 4 million sufferers experience chronic daily headaches.
If you’re one of them or you’re part of the nearly 25% of American households with a migraine sufferer, you probably came here with some hope of relief.
And, there’s a possibility we can offer some.
But, we’re hot sauce manufacturers, not doctors, so you shouldn’t take any of this as medical advice or a migraine cure. That said, the leap between hot sauce and headaches isn’t that wide.
How can hot sauce be anything like a headache?
If hot and spicy food isn’t your thing, you might already equate hot sauces with headaches. They both hurt, right?
But, what’s far more interesting (if scientific research appeals to you), is that migraines and hot sauces hurt in the same way.
More specifically, a migraine will cause your body to release calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRP) that creates a rush of blood flow to the area. Capsaicin – the hot stuff in chili peppers – causes the same reaction.
In case you’re wondering, you can experience pain without a CGRP dump which is why a migraine and hot sauce consumption are so similar.
With a migraine, this blood rush arrives with waves of nausea and the belief that the tiny bit of light coming in from the crack under the door is entirely evil.
If you’ve just enjoyed one of our super hot sauces, you also understand a little something about evil.
Either way, once your body dumps these peptides, it needs to go off to make some more. Frequent migraine sufferers may just as well question why their bodies are so efficient rather than why they battle such awful headaches.
But, it’s the dump and development cycle that excites scientists searching for ways to prevent migraines (as opposed to looking for a migraine cure). If someone can experience the CGRP release without the need to lock themselves into cool, dark rooms between fits of vomiting, you’ve got yourself a miracle. Okay, we can’t lay claim to miracle status, but it’ll certainly feel that way for most.
Should we expect to see hot sauce headache cures on the market?
Absolutely. There are already a few treatments on the market which make the most of capsaicin. And it’s not necessarily a new thing either; capsaicin has been used for centuries as a form of pain relief.
You can certainly speak to a doctor about getting your hands on a prescription for one of these treatments.
Our approach (and remember, no doctors here) is a little more radical. Or maybe it’s less. We just mass consume hot sauces as our in-house migraine cure (and again, not really a cure).
We’re just out all the time dumping CGRP. We have a little hot sauce over here, a few chili peppers over there. And that’s just before breakfast. We’re indulging in hot sauces so frequently that our bodies just can’t reach migraine-worthy CGRP levels.
Now, most scientists will tell you a lot more research needs to be done to determine whether oral consumption of capsaicin can relieve migraines.
But, there’s no reason you shouldn’t indulge in Mad Dog hot sauces in the meantime. Not, of course, because you’ve taken it as medical advice, but because super hot sauces are delicious.
And, even if they hurt, they can’t hurt, right? If nothing else, you may just stumble on your new favorite foodie find – even if you don’t discover your own personal migraine cure.
Ready to see if hot sauces will cure your migraines?
It’s not medical advice, but you may as well give it a try. There’s a reason hot sauce sales are on the rise; people are falling in love with the world’s hottest sauces every day.
