What Is Black Pepper?
This is one ingredient commonly sprinkled on omelettes, curd, fruit salads, potato chips and other items to make the food spicy. It’s got a smell that can tickle anyone’s nose. Apart from enriching the flavour of the dish, there are numerous hidden health benefits of black pepper that not many would be aware of. Yes, it is black pepper we are talking of – the small round black granules that come in powdered form too to dress up the dishes.
Origin And History Of Black Pepper
Did you know that black pepper is in fact fruit derived? Yes!! It comes from the berries of the pepper plant belonging to the family Piperaceae. Peppercorns are usually either black, green or white and the color is obtained with various processing techniques.
The half ripe pepper berries, when dried, form black peppercorns. This black pepper is a widely-cultivated fruit in South India and other tropical regions. Vietnam is now known to be the world’s largest producer and exporter of pepper.
Apart from being a spice, it served the role of a currency and was also listed as one of the sacred offerings during the ancient times. In Middle Ages, a man’s wealth was assessed by his stockpile of pepper. Isn’t that interesting?
Reading along you will understand why black pepper is popular.
BLACK PEPPER HEALTH BENEFITS
Read the fresh new perspective of black pepper and you will certainly feel amazed at this tiny black component that takes the culinary flavours one step ahead.
1. Digestion
Black pepper has ‘piperine’ that stimulates the taste buds signaling our bellies to produce more of hydrochloric acid. It is this acid that helps in digestion of proteins and other foods in the stomach. If this was not there, we would suffer from disorders such as flatulence, acidity, constipation, indigestion and diarrhoea. Therefore, add 1 tablespoon (depending on the quantity of servings) of ground pepper to your meal to add extra flavours to your dishes and keep stomach in a healthy state.
Source: jackedfactory.com
2. Weight Loss
If you are wondering just like us on how to use black pepper for weight loss and how many calories in black pepper, let us elaborate our insight here. Adding black pepper to your daily food is one of the simple ways to lose weight everyday as it contains simply 15 calories in two teaspoons.The outer layer of black pepper has active nutrients that stimulate the breakdown of fat cells. This is the key reason, why black pepper is counted as the best weight loss aid. Just sprinkle pepper over your curry-based or dry dishes to get benefit of weight loss. However, do not eat too much of it since it can lead to side effects.
Source: vitalhomeremedies.com
3. Cough And Cold
Black pepper is an effective remedy when it comes to treating common cold and cough. The best thing about it is its warm and spicy flavour that helps loosen up the phlegm. This is black pepper for cough a major help in relieving stuffy noses. All you need to do is sprinkle ground pepper on hot soup (veg or non-veg) which will help loosen the phlegm and aid in better breathing.
[Also Read: How to Get Rid of Phlegm in Chest]
Source: medicalland.gr
4. Anti-depressant
There are days when we feel sad and morose. Add pepper to your meals and watch the wave of happiness and cheer step in. Research shows that ‘piperine’ compound in black pepper helps beat depression and helps in better functioning of the brain when taken regularly. So, avail this wonderful benefits of eating black pepper by adding it to your meal or better still take it as a salad seasoning to beat depression.
Source: drkeribrown.com
5. Cancer
A study done in the University of Michigan Cancer Center reveals interesting facts on the effect of black pepper on cancer. Once again, the pipeline component in pepper prevents breast cancer. Black pepper also stalls the growth of colon and skin cancer. Since prevention is better than cure, make sure to add half teaspoon of pepper powder in food in order to avail of the benefits.
6. Peptic Ulcers
The antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory properties of black pepper are beneficial for mucosal damage and peptic ulcers. Research in this aspect is still on and we wish to see a reliable case study of the benefits of black pepper.
10. Contains Folate
Folate or folic acid is needed during pregnancy to avoid any neural tube defects in the baby. This pepper contains a good amount of folate that facilitates good health. Hence consuming black pepper in pregnancy would be recommended. Since pregnancy is a sensitive issue, it would be better to consult a physician before taking this step.
11. Improves Metabolism
The black pepper health benefits include the increase in metabolism rate. It will help effectively in burning unwanted calories and reducing belly fat. In other words, by improving the metabolism, the black pepper works as a great weight loss technique.
12. Dental Relief
With the fool proof, the nutritional value of black pepper, we can attend to the dental health care issues. It helps in fighting tooth decay and relieves tooth pain.
13. Other Benefits
According to Ayurveda medicine, black pepper also assists in treating ear-aches, gangrene, and hernia.
Benefits Of Black Pepper Oil
1. Treats Arthritis
The black pepper essential oil has a warm feel that helps in improving blood circulation. It provides great relief to the arthritis pain. It eliminates unwanted uric acid toxins and helps in comforting rheumatic and arthritis patients.
2. Cleanses Intestines
Holding similar properties like castor oil, it works as an efficient health remedy for intestinal issues. It cleans the intestine and ensures that the digestive tract doesn’t get infected. With the piperine generating laxative property, black pepper works great for indigestion.
3. Resolves Kidney Issues
This oil helps in removing excess toxins from the body. It cleanses the system by eliminating uric acid and excess salts. By aiding in reducing the toxic contents in the urinary tract, it helps in reducing inflammation.
4. Regulates Blood Pressure
The potassium present in the black pepper essential oil keeps the blood pressure in check. This is one good benefits of black pepper for pregnancy.
5. Skin Benefits Of Black Pepper
Since the world is full of wondrous beauty products, we often end up thoroughly confused on what would suit our skin type or our skin related issue. But we recommend you to try the best, natural remedy which puts most of your skin issues at ease- the Black Pepper. A spice acting as a skin remedy, sounds interesting, isn’t it? Read along to know better.
6. Exfoliator
Eating black pepper is a great way to sweat it out. It is a wonderful exfoliant too. Crushed pepper, when added to a face scrub, removes dead skin, boosts circulation and works in giving you a clean skin through its antibacterial properties. That is why they keep skin problems such as acne at bay. As a home remedy for glowing skin, apply coarsely ground pepper powder to your face pack and apply it over your face for about 15 minutes. Then wash it with warm water to get desired results.
source: pinterest
7. Bye-Bye Wrinkles
With the growing age, we often fret over the forming lines and wrinkles. But coming to our rescue with its antioxidant properties is the black pepper. It helps protect the skin against aging miraculously. Rather than indulging in expensive skin creams and lotions, add black pepper to your everyday consumption and shoo away the aging lines.
8. Vitiligo Cure
Vitiligo is a skin condition that is often seen disturbing the beauty aspect of oneself. It causes the skin to lose its natural pigmentation, creating white patches in certain areas. Though there are various treatments, the most harmless technique would be the use of black pepper. The Piperine of black pepper stimulates the generation of pigmentation in the skin and slowly works towards the cure of the skin disease.
Black Pepper Benefits For Hair Care
So far, we have seen the medicinal uses of black pepper, now, let us discover its magical properties in the field of hair care.
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1. Dandruff
Black pepper has anti-bacterial properties that make it work wonders in fighting dandruff. Would you believe us if we said, pepper is one of the best home remedies for dandruff? Yes, it’s true. Mix a teaspoon of crushed black pepper in a cup containing curd. Mix the concoction well and apply it on the scalp. Leave it for about thirty minutes. Now rinse your hair and shampoo the next day. Try and avoid using too much pepper as it can burn the scalp.
source: pinterest
2. Hair Restoration
Who doesn’t long for shiny, beautiful hair? We all certainly do, don’t we? Here is one of the quick home remedies of black pepper that will make your dream come true. Blend a teaspoon of ground black pepper with lemon seeds and apply it on the scalp and hair. Let it rest for approximately 15 minutes and gently rinse it off with cold water. This will leave your hair revitalized with a shine and spark.
Sprinkle the magical benefits of black pepper into your life and see everything looks wonderfully spicy and healthy.
