Black Pepper

Black Pepper health benefits include fighting depression, promoting digestion, helping with nutrient absorption, treating ulcers, supporting weight loss, treating cough and sore throat, promoting a health heart and soothing toothaches. The next time you relegate black pepper to the back of your shelf, think twice. The humble spice holds more benefits than you'd imagine. It belongs to the Piperaceae family, and is processed in different ways to yield different kinds of peppers. For instance, the cooked and dried unripe fruit is black pepper, the green pepper is from the dried and unripe fruit, and white pepper are the seeds from the ripened fruit of the plant. While pepper originally belongs to South India, it's grown in other tropical countries as well. It's played a vital role in history, and has been considered as an important spice from time immemorial. In ancient Greece, it was also used as currency. In later years, it became pivotal in the spice trade across the world. Incidentally Vietnam is considered to be the largest grower and exporter of pepper. India, Brazil, and Indonesia follow suit. Black pepper, while used in cooking and garnishing in cuisines the world over, comes with lots of health benefits. 1. Help Fight Depression Black pepper contains a compound called piperine, which is very beneficial for people suffering from depression. It also helps improves brain functions and helps enhance memory. There have been studies published in medical journals such as the Journal of food and chemical toxicology. Regular intake of black pepper helped alleviate depression, significantly enhancing brain functionality. 2. Helps with Digestion The body secretes an acid called the hydrochloric acid, which is essential to the digestion process. Black pepper is known to increase the secretion of this acid, which helps the body to digest food. It helps prevent intestinal gas production and stimulates sweating and urinating, which helps remove toxins from the body. Black pepper is a carminative that promotes good gut health. 3. Nutrient Absorption Consumption of black pepper helps the body absorb more nutrients from other foods. Using black pepper with fruits, vegetables or any other dish will help the body absorb the nutrients to their full potential.