Has anyone ever heard of spicy foods being effective as a pain reliever? I'm just curious as to if anyone has had any noticeable results with this. I read about it years ago. The minor 'pain' associated with eating spicy foods trigger the brain to release natural pain relievers. I'm thinking the amount of relief is probably not significant in cases like those on this board. But it may explain why I've always peppered my meals so heavily that you can barely see the food. I take the lids off of pepper shakers because the holes are too small to dispense the amount of pepper I want. Maybe I've been subconsciencly self-medicating?......franjo