Food focus: black pepper
Black pepper is often referred to as the ‘king of spice’ and with its plethora of body benefits, we can see why!
Often referred to as the ‘king of spice’ – we find out why!
‘Whenever you add turmeric to your food make sure you add some black pepper – it can increase its bioavailability by up to 2,000 per cent’
You’ll find peppercorns in several different colours – red, white, green and black – but this is just down to its different stages of maturity or processing methods.
Black pepper contains an essential oil known as piperine. It’s what gives black pepper its pungency, although you may find this lessens over time. Piperine is known for its ability to increase the absorption of several key nutrients including selenium, B vitamins and betacarotene. In fact, it’s so effective that whenever you add turmeric to your food make sure you add some black pepper – it can increase its bioavailability by up to 2,000 per cent!
Piperine is also beneficial for those with arthritis, due to its anti-inflammatory properties. It can also improve circulation, thereby easing joint pain.
Black pepper also contains some calcium, zinc, iron and potassium, which is important for regulating cellular and bodily fluids, as well as heart rate and blood pressure.
If you suffer with poor digestion, you may want to start adding more black pepper to your food. It helps to increase hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which is vital for breaking down our food before it passes into the intestines. Improving your digestion will also then help prevent GI issues such as diarrhoea and constipation, and black pepper is also a carminative, which means it can help prevent gas.
In Ayurvedic medicine, black pepper is used in tonics for coughs and colds, and also provides relief from sinusitis and nasal congestion as it can help to break down mucus and phlegm. If all else fails, sniff some black pepper to encourage sneezing – it will soon clear your nasal passages!
When used as an essential oil, black pepper can help soothe insect bites or it can be used in a diffuser or inhaled directly to help soothe anxiety, as it has a calming effect. The piperine in black pepper can also encourage an increase in the production of serotonin, which is our ‘happy hormone’, as well as increasing our endorphins to help boost mental clarity and mood, and act as a natural painkiller. In fact, when it comes to our brain health, early research has shown that certain chemical pathways are stimulated by black pepper and that it may even help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Watch this space! Adding black pepper to your food will also help to keep your arteries clean as, like fibre, it helps to ‘scrape’ excess cholesterol off arterial walls, helping to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and consequently heart attacks or strokes.