Black pepper, also known as red hot pepper, perennial plant of the Solanaceae family Piperaceae and perhaps the most fiercely pungent spice in the world, is native to the Malabar Coast in Southern India and is still one of the oldest spices known. It is considered an immensely flavorful and aromatic spice and the history of its discovery is incomplete. The earliest mention of black pepper was in a book written about a spice called “Aurysthe sea pepper” that was used by the ancient Indians for food and medicine. Though the exact source of this spice is not known, it is assumed that it was brought by voyagers from the east.
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This super spice is considered so beneficial to the health of man, that it is recommended to those who want to live a healthy life, to eat a lot of it or take it as a medicine. In fact, the famous Ayurvedic doctor Dr. H. G. Patanjali prescribed it to prevent tooth decay and promoted good health at the same time. Black pepper has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, thus promotes the body’s immune system, preserves energy and keeps diseases at bay. It tastes good, like black pepper and has been used since ages to add flavor to food, but did you know that it also has some medicinal properties? Let’s find out.
Black Pepper contains capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their heat. It’s a naturally occurring compound found mostly in chili peppers, but it’s also found in hot dogs, grapes and cucumbers, among other things. Capsaicin has a lot of health benefits to offer. A study published in the Journal of American Science showed that black pepper increases blood flow through the veins. The increase in the flow of blood to the veins’ superficial layers triggers a natural inflammatory response that leads to a drop in the levels of inflammatory cytokines, the molecules that cause pain.
And now this amazing health phenomenon has been transferred to the West. Black pepper is now available in every single country as a popular spice. In fact, some cities in India have become giant exporters of this super health food. As a result, India’s economy has boomed because of the huge influx of people flocking to cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and even Calcutta (the commercial hub of South India). This booming economy has not only benefited ordinary people by providing them jobs and material comforts, it has also helped India’s government to invest a great deal of money into research and development of new crops that are resistant to diseases and that produce more fresh medicine every single day.
In other words, a bunch of Black Pepper taken daily will have innumerable health benefits for you. It is cultivated mainly in the tropical areas of South America and Africa. Black Pepper is a seedless, rhizome-less pepper with a pungent taste and a thick flesh that are yellow or orange in color. The seeds contain capsaicin, a powerful chili substance that produces the distinctive flavor. The more dried and cracked pepper a fruit gets, the hotter it becomes.
The natural sweetness of the pepper and the quality of the fruit make it a perfect cure for all kinds of disorders and diseases. Black Peppercorns and White Peppercorns are used in various home remedies for treating every single kind of ailment and are extremely beneficial. As a matter of fact, the whole pepper family is now being sold as fresh ingredients in most of India’s famous Ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines. The regular consumption of Black Pepper is also highly beneficial for maintaining proper cardiovascular health. Moreover, regular intake of Black Pepper also helps in improving the immune system and thereby prevents common diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease.