The evidence that pepper is healthy
Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: 6x why pepper is good for you.
Do you always bury your steak under pepper because you love the taste? Do you almost coat your tomatoes with it? An extra reason to grind away, because black pepper turns out to be really healthy. That's due to piperine (we're not making this up), a substance that those black peppercorns are full of.
1. Helps other spices
Thanks to piperine, your body can absorb other substances better. This applies, for example, to the healthy compounds in turmeric (golden moonmilk, anybody?) and carotenoids. Are you going for a curry – with quite a bit of turmeric – then let your pepper mill spin.
2. Good for your intestines
According to aHealthyLife pepper stimulates the release of enzymes by your intestines and pancreas. And that's good for your digestion. Black pepper can also help if you have diarrhea. Okay, if it really rumbles in your belly you might want to grab something else, but if it doesn't help, it doesn't hurt, right?
3. Is a natural painkiller
At least, in animals, because the pain-relieving effect of black pepper has not yet been proven in humans. A cream with black pepper helps animals with muscle pain.
4. Prevents you from overeating
Again, only tested in animals: black pepper slowed down the stomach, causing the animals not to overeat. Black pepper can also curb the feeling of hunger, says aHealthyLife.
5. Good for your head
So, these are big promises: black pepper could counteract Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Scientists still don’t know exactly how, writes aHealthyLife, but maybe it has something to do with preventing amyloid plaques in the brain. Sounds good, but as long as scientists don’t know anything for sure, I wouldn’t replace the brain research department in the hospital with a spice rack just yet.
6. And good against… cancer?
Pepper acts as an antioxidant and that could lower the risk of developing cancer and tumors. Aha. Right. Tst. Credibility: not so high.
Fabeltjeskrant
The author of the article on aHealthyLife does happily note that most studies on the health effects of black pepper have mainly been conducted on animals. And although Mr. Owl claims: ‘Animals are just like humans’, it’s a bit more complicated medically. Which newspaper did Mr. Owl read again? Nice, black pepper, but don’t expect miracles.
