Case in point, I have been drinking a red pepper tea for seasonal allergies. Something in the air seems to be really bothering me these past two weeks for some odd reason -- nearby forest fires while on vacation? So I have been drinking 2 cups of red pepper tea per day instead of just my normal one to none. Normally, I am fine with this tea blend and I have used it many times before --I always prefer natural remedies to pharmaceutical drugs-- with much success, but the past few days I have found myself becoming incredibly dizzy, to the point of almost passing out, after my second cup of tea.
It finally occurred to me that it was in the red pepper tea that was causing my dizziness, but I couldn't figure out exactly why. After some reading here on-line today I discovered that the red pepper tea has also been used to lower blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure and when combined with potassium the blood pressure effect is significantly increased --because the potassium takes the place of sodium stored in body cells, which in turn causes a drop in blood pressure. And here I have been eating a banana after my intense workouts these past few days --to help reduce muscle pain ... lactic acid build-up. Turns out this post-workout banana has been preceding my second cup of red pepper tea each day. I have normal to low blood pressure already, being tall and thin, so lowering my blood pressure is not something I need to be doing. So, now I know: red pepper tea and bananas do not mix for me! But maybe if you have high blood pressure and you want to try a natural remedy for lowering blood pressure (have heard blood pressure medications have some nasty side-effects!) the red pepper tea and banana combo just might be the ticket for you.
[Side Note: I do have to wonder though ... would it be safe to use lowering my blood pressure to the point of dizziness in order to induce sleep????? I have horrible insomnia and most sleeping pills don't work well for me, but I slept well on the dizzy nights.]
