Black pepper: Five amazing health benefits you don't know about

New Delhi: "Piper nigrum" or the black pepper is the world most traded spice and is found in almost everyone's kitchen. Black pepper is primarily used in the kitchen to add spice and flavour to our food. 

But wait! There's much more to these tiny black seeds than just adding taste to the food. 

The health benefits of black pepper include relief from respiratory disorders, coughs, seasonal cold, constipation, indigestion, dental disease 

and much more.

Here's are some of the reasons why one should sprinkle this spice some more: 

Work wonders to stomach:

The piperine in black pepper eases digestion and stimulates the stomach, which then secretes more hydrochloric acid that helps to digest proteins in food. It stimulates the taste buds to signal the stomach to produce more acid. Stomach acid is essential for digestion as it helps breakdown foods and the acidity triggers the release of digestive enzymes that help complete the digestive process. So a bit of pepper in food actually helps to digest it faster.

Encourages appetite:

Besides adding flavour to your food and promoting digestion, black pepper works as an appetite stimulant. According to research, the use of this spice in our food helps in improving the appetite through olfactory stimulation. This makes it an excellent, simple remedy for those with a poor appetite.

Weight Loss: 

The outer layer of peppercorn assists in the breakdown of fat cells. Therefore, peppery foods are a good way to help you shed weight naturally. When fat cells are broken down into their component parts, they are easily processed by the body and applied to other, more healthy processes and enzymatic reactions, rather than simply sitting on your body and making you look overweight.

Improves skin: 

Do you know that crushed pepper is one of the best exfoliators nature has provided us? It can be used when added with a bit of honey, curd, or fresh cream to it. It also enables blood circulation and provides the skin with more oxygen. Crushed pepper when added to a face scrub, helps slough off dead skin, stimulates circulation and helps deliver more oxygen and nutrients to the skin.

Addresses depression: 

The compound piperine in black pepper increases the cognitive function of the brain and helps beat depression. It stimulates the brain and helps it to function properly by making it more active.

Other health benefits:

According to Ayurvedic medicines, the use of black pepper helps to prevent earaches as well besides helping in a hernia and insect bites. In many regions, black pepper is effectively used in tooth decay and toothaches. In ancient times, this herbal spice was used by many to treat vision-related problems.