The health benefits of black pepper include relief from
respiratory disorders, coughs, the common cold, constipation, indigestion,
anemia, impotency, muscular strains, dental disease, pyorrhea, diarrhea, and
heart disease.
Black pepper is the fruit of the black pepper plant from the
Piperaceae family and is used as both a spice and a medicine. The chemical
piperine, which is present in black pepper, causes the spiciness. It is native
to Kerala, the southern state of India. Since ancient times, black pepper is
one of the most widely traded spices in the world. It is not considered a
seasonal plant and is therefore available throughout the year. When dried, this
plant-derived spice is referred to as a peppercorn, and is then ground into a
powder to be put on food to add flavor and spice.
Because of its antibacterial properties, pepper is also used
to preserve food. It is a rich source of manganese, iron, potassium, vitamin-C,
vitamin K, and dietary fiber. Black pepper is also a very good
anti-inflammatory agent.
Health Benefits of Black Pepper
The health benefits
of black pepper include the following:
Good for the Stomach
Pepper increases the hydrochloric acid secretion in the
stomach, thereby facilitating digestion. Proper digestion is essential to avoid
diarrhea, constipation and colic. Pepper also helps to prevent the formation of
intestinal gas, and when added to a person’s diet, it can promote sweating and
urination, which remove toxins from the body. Sweating removes toxins and
cleans out the pores of any foreign bodies that may have lodged there, and it
can also remove excess water or accumulation, also known as edema. In terms of
urination, you can remove uric acid, urea, excess water, and fat, since 4% of
urine is made of fat. For digestion, inducing digestion can help you lose
weight and increase the overall functioning of your body and prevent various
gastrointestinal conditions and colorectal cancer. Its ability to expel gas is
because black pepper is a carminative, which forces gas out of the body in a
healthy, downward motion, rather than pressing upwards in a dangerous way and
straining the upper chest cavity and vital organs. It also inhibits more gas
from forming in the body.
Weight Loss
The outer layer of peppercorn assists in the breakdown of
fat cells. Therefore, peppery foods are a good way to help you shed weight
naturally. When fat cells are broken down into their component parts, they are
easily processed by the body and applied to other, more healthy processes and
enzymatic reactions, rather than simply sitting on your body and making you
look overweight.
Skin Health
Pepper helps to cure Vitiligo, which is a skin disease that
causes some areas of skin to lose its normal pigmentation and turn white.
According to researchers in London, the piperine content of pepper can
stimulate the skin to produce pigment. Topical treatment of piperine combined
with ultra violet light therapy is much better than the other harsher, more
chemically-based treatments for vitiligo. It also reduces the chances of skin
cancer due to excessive ultraviolet radiation.
Respiratory Relief
In Ayurvedic practices, pepper is added to tonics for colds
and coughs. Pepper also provides relief from sinusitis and nasal congestion. It
has an expectorant property that helps to break up the mucus and phlegm
depositions in the respiratory tract, and its natural irritant quality helps
you to expel these loosened material through the act of sneezing or coughing,
which eliminates the material from the body and helps you to heal from whatever
infection or illness caused the deposition in the first place.
Antibacterial Quality
The antibacterial property of black pepper helps to fight
against infections and insect bites. Pepper added to the diet helps to keep
your arteries clean by acting in a similar way to fiber and scraping excess
cholesterol from the walls, thereby helping to reduce atherosclerosis, the
condition highly responsible for heart attacks and strokes.
Antioxidant Potential
An antioxidant like pepper can prevent or repair the damage
caused by the free radicals and thus help to prevent cancer, cardiovascular
diseases and liver problems. Free radicals are the byproducts of cellular
metabolism that attack healthy cells and cause their DNA to mutate into
cancerous cells. Antioxidants like black pepper neutralize these harmful
compounds and protect your system from many conditions, even premature aging
symptoms like wrinkles, age spots, macular degeneration, and memory loss.
Enhances
Bioavailability
Black pepper helps in transporting the benefits of other
herbs to different parts of body, maximizing the efficiency of the other health
foods that we consume. That is why adding it to foods not only makes them taste
delicious, but also helps make those nutrients more available and accessible to
our system.
Cognitive Impairment
and Neurological Health
Piperine, one of the key components of black pepper, has
been shown in numerous studies to reduce memory impairment and cognitive
malfunction. Chemical pathways in the brain appear to be stimulated by this
organic compound, so early research demonstrates the possibility for pepper to
benefit Alzheimer’s patients and those that are suffering from dementia and
other age-related or free radical-related malfunctions in cognition.
Peptic Ulcers
A number of studies have shown that black pepper may have
beneficial effects on gastric mucosal damage and peptic ulcers, due to its
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. More research is still being done
on this aspect of black pepper health effects.
Asthma and Whooping
Cough
Pepper is a good treatment for respiratory conditions like due to its properties as an expectorant, as
well as its strong anti-inflammatory properties.
Other Benefits?
According to Ayurvedic medicine, black pepper also helps to
prevent ear-aches and gangrene. It is also good for conditions of hernia,
hoarseness and insect bites. It is also commonly used to treat conditions of
tooth decay and toothache. In ancient times, pepper was also administered to
treat vision problems.
Preparing grounded pepper powder at home is better than
buying ready-made pepper powder. However, even home-made powder retains its
freshness for only 3 months, while whole peppercorns can keep their freshness
indefinitely. Thus, adding a pinch of black pepper to every meal helps to
improve both taste and digestion. It also improves your overall health and well
being.
A Word of Warning
Pepper may cause sneezing. Patients who have undergone
abdominal surgery should not add excessive pepper to their diet because it can
have an irritating effect on the intestines. Black pepper should not be taken
in high concentrations, and if you show signs of an allergic reaction,
discontinue its use and consult a doctor!
To know more details visit https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-black-pepper.html
