Health Benefits of Black Pepper

Health Benefits of Black Pepper

Black pepper comes from the berries of the pepper plant. Black pepper, green pepper and white peppercorns are actually the same fruit (Piper nigrum); the difference in their color is a reflection of varying stages of development and processing methods.

Pepper is cultivated since millennia. Pungent and aromatic, it is grown in Southern India since more than two thousand years, has always been much valued all over the world. Along with other spices from India and lands farther east, it changed the course of world history. It was in some part the preciousness of these spices that led to the European efforts to find a sea route to India and consequently to the European colonial occupation of that country, as well as the European discovery and colonization of the Americas. Pepper was so valuable that it was often used as collateral or even currency.

1. Black pepper is known to improve digestion. Consume 5 gm of black pepper powder mixed in a cup of buttermilk in case of digestive problems and intestinal infections. It treats these problems effectively as well as gives relief.  
2. Black Pepper helps stomach to produce hydrochloric acid which is needed to digest food. This prevents food staying in the stomach for a long time which ultimately cures flatulence and stomach irritations.  
3. In case of anorexia (loss of appetite), a decoction of black pepper taken helps solving the problem by stimulating the taste buds.  
4. In case of fever with chills, drink little warm water boiled with pepper seeds. It effectively reduces the high temperature.  
5. Chewing the seeds, gargling with warm water boiled with the seeds, relieves toothaches. 
6. A decoction of black pepper taken twice a day alleviates constipation.  
7. Sucking few pepper corns provides immediate relief from throat irritations and dry cough.  
8. A decoction of black pepper taken twice a day helps common cold and cough.  
9. It promotes proper urination and sweating that helps get rid of harmful toxins from the body.  
10. In case of minor cuts, sprinkle little black pepper powder on the area. It stops bleeding and its antibacterial properties promote immediate healing by killing the germs.  

Health Benefit of Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum)

Health Benefit of Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum)

Capsicum annuum
Solanaceae
Cayenne pepper (also known as chili or red hot pepper,Guinea spice,cow-horn pepper, aleva, bird pepper,) is the fruit of Capsicum annuum, a shrub that grows to three feet high.It’s in the Solanaceae family, also called the night shade family. Related plants in this family include potato, eggplant, and tomato.

The potent, hot fruit of cayenne has been used as medicine for centuries. It was considered helpful for various conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, including stomachaches, cramping pains, and gas. Cayenne was frequently used to treat diseases of the circulatory system. It is still traditionally used in herbal medicine as a circulatory tonic (a substance believed to improve circulation). Rubbed on the skin, cayenne is a traditional, as well as modern, remedy for rheumatic pains and arthritis due to what is termed a counterirritant effect. A counterirritant is something which causes irritation to a tissue to which it is applied, thus distracting from the original irritation (such asjoint pain in the case of arthritis).

It is a very high source of Vitamins A and C, has the complete B complexes, and is very rich in organic calcium and potassium, which is one of the reasons it is good for the heart.If a heart attack should occur, it is suggested that a teaspoon of extract be given every 15 minutes or a teaspoon of Cayenne in a glass of hot water be taken until the crisis has passed. The hotness comes from a chemical called capsaicin, which is also one of the botanical’s principal therapeutic substances.

Eating cayenne pepper may also be helpful for weight maintenance and decreasing insulin resistance (in pre diabetes and diabetes).

But since cayenne is quite hot, this pepper may cause pain and discomfort in people with gastric or peptic ulcers.