Can cayenne pepper fight the flu virus?

It will probably make you feel better, but it doesn't "kill" the virus or fight the infection directly. Cayenne pepper (or any Chile powder made from hot peppers) is made from ground dried "chile peppers" that contain an active ingredient, capsaicin. It is known to ease symptoms such as nasal congestion, increased mucous, fever, malaise and body aches. Many people make it a habit to eat very hot foods, like Thai foods or Mexican foods, when they are suffering from a cold or the flu because of the mild euphoria, nasal passage clearing, and pain killing characteristics caused by the chiles in the ingredients. Try it next time and see if it helps.*

NOTE:

*If you are not accustomed to eating hot foods made with chiles, start with small amounts of chile powders sprinkled on at the table until you develop into a chilehead and are able to eat fire. If you bite off more than you can chew, one of the best "antidotes" is a bite of raw banana. It kills the mouth pain almost instantly. Other things that help are dairy foods (the casein in these helps to neutralize the action of the capsaicin) and the fat content helps to "dilute" and dissolve the vegetable fats that contain the capsaicin so that it can be more easily removed from your mouth. High fat premium ice cream is good, too. Water and alcohol don't help and tend to make it worse in most people. Something to absorb the chile oils to remove them from your mouth, such as dry saltine crackers, can also help...but banana is the best remedy.