Black Pepper

Black Pepper – it’s the most widely used spice in the world, found in every kitchen pantry or on every table (usually next to the salt). You could even say that Black Pepper is the ‘king of spices.’

Not only is Black Pepper great for adding flavour and a little spice to your food, it’s really good for you too.

Today we share some of the health benefits of Black Pepper, the healthy king of spices.

Where Does Black Pepper Come From?

It’s thought to have originated in South India, from where it was traded globally hundreds of years ago and often referred to as “black gold”.

It slowly found its use not only in culinary recipes, but in medicine too.

What Are the Health Benefits of Black Pepper?

There are many health benefits of Black Pepper. Here are just a few:

Antioxidant

Free radicals can damage almost any cellular structures from cell wall to the DNA. Stress, exercise, smoking, pollution, and excess exposure to sunrays all result in higher production of free radicals than the body can handle. Free radicals are now thought to be behind the upsurge of chronic ailments, premature aging, and can contribute to a higher prevalence of cancer. Antioxidants can help with this, and Black Pepper contains piperine, which is a potent antioxidant.¹

Anti-Inflammatory

Inflammation is the underlying cause for most chronic health issues from the ailing heart, to joint pains, or even cancer. Piperine has a potent anti-inflammatory action.²

Neuroprotective

Only a century ago, dementia, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s⁷ were regarded as rare conditions. Now, they’re on the rise and have emerged as the major cause of mortality, especially in the developed world.

Black Pepper may help protect brain cells from damage related to environmental changes. It may even have a role in preventing the formation of amyloid plaques and thus preventing the development of Alzheimer’s.³

Improves Blood Sugar Metabolism

Piperine (found in Black Pepper), may also help improve insulin sensitivity and as such, help improve blood sugar levels. This means, it may help those living with diabetes, gain better control over their sugar levels. It may also help counter the effect of adipokines (an inflammatory compound causing metabolic disorders in obese individuals).⁴

Lowers Cholesterol

High cholesterol? Piperine may help better control cholesterollevels.⁸

Bioavailability Enhancer

Though Black Pepper and piperine have many health benefits, the biggest reason for adding it to various health supplements is its ability to enhance the bioavailability of other natural compounds.

In recent years, the use of natural supplements has increased by several times as they are not only effective but also much safer than chemical drugs. Moreover, using natural remedies does not require a medical prescription, thus making them more accessible.

However, researchers have been disappointed by the clinical results of various natural supplements. They found that though many supplements demonstrated excellent results in laboratories, they failed to help in a similar way in the clinical setting.

Why? Researchers realised that the reason for the failure of natural remedies lies in the bioavailability of their active compounds. Many useful compounds in herbs simply don’t get easily absorbed by the body, which led to finding ways for enhancing the bioavailability of natural supplements. They found that adding Black Pepper extract to the natural remedies (piperine) increased their bioavailability and effectiveness by 200% or even more.⁵

One of the natural supplements that significantly benefit from the addition of piperine is turmeric or curcumin. Clinical studies show that piperine can increase the bioavailability of curcumin by as much as 2000%, making it up to 20-times more effective in comparison to the use of curcumin alone.⁶

It means that piperine has a synergetic action when added to various natural remedies. Not only does it directly exert beneficial effects, but also increases the potency of other natural compounds by several times too.

Black Pepper really is king of the spices. Now can you see why.

Properties

Anti-Inflammatory¹^,²
Anti-Parasitic¹
Antioxidant¹^,²
Antiseptic¹
Antispasmodic¹^,²
Brain Function / Neuroprotective³
Cancer Prevention¹^,²
Cholesterol¹^,²
Cooling¹^,²
Diabetes / Blood Sugar⁴
Diarrhea¹^,²
Digestive Function¹^,²
Energiser¹^,²
Expectorant¹^,²
Fever Reduction¹^,²
Flatulence¹^,²
Indigestion¹^,²
Pain Relief¹^,²
Suppresses Metabolism⁴
Toxin Removal¹^,²
Weight Loss / Management⁴

References