White pepper is one of the most popular culinary spices in the world. Commonly used in Asian countries as seasoning for soups, it has a distinct flavor as well as scent which provide the mild but spicy tastes in dishes such as Japanese or Chinese cuisines. White pepper which is used as a spice is basically the fruit of white pepper plants, also known as peppercorns. Peppercorns are the source of both white pepper and black pepper.
What sets white pepper and black pepper apart is actually the process underlying the preparation of both peppers. Black pepper is picked when the peppercorns are almost ripe, after which the peppercorns get sun-dried. While white pepper originated from the inner seed of the peppercorns, whose outer skins removed before or after the drying process. Both are used mainly as culinary spices with slightly different purposes, due to their differences in tastes.
Turns out, white pepper also has some other benefits and uses apart from cooking. Some researches suggested many curative effects as well as other beneficial effects for overall body health. So, here are the health benefits of white pepper.
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1. May Help in Fighting Cancer
Spicy stuffs like peppers and chilies are well known for its immunity boosting properties. There’s even more surprising finding by the research conducted at the University of Nottingham and the American Association of Cancer Research. The research suggested that capsaicin, substance that gives the hot and spicy flavor, has the ability to kill some of the cancerous cells. The finding especially shown in the treatment of prostate cancer.
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2. Might Improve Digestion
There are many reasons why people use white peppers as spices in their cookings. Aside from enhancing the taste of the said cookings, white peppers also can enhance our digestive systems. They do it by stimulating the body to secrete more hydrochloric acid which is necessary for digestion processes. White peppers also contain fiber which also can stimulate peristaltic motion as well as the secretion of gastric acid, which in turn improving digestion, eases bowel movement and protect the body from digestive problems as well as colon cancer.
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3. Serve as Energy Booster
Not only do white peppers spice foods up, they can also spice us up by boosting the energy production in our mitochondria, which is basically a component in our cells responsible for energy generations. White peppers contain manganese, which is a necessary ingredient for some enzymes in mitochondria to work producing energies as well as fighting free radicals.
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4. Maintain Dental Health
Some people use white peppers as alternative treatment for tootache, which mainly used to relieve the pain. The dental-related usage goes long way, they can even be used as prevention against tooth decay.
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5. Treating Some Skin Conditions
White peppers contain piperine, a substance with many functions, most notably it can increase bioavibilities of other nutrients such as beta-carotene, curcumin, selenium, vitamin B6 and even amino acids, to be easier for the body to assimilate. Little is known however, that piperine can help treating skin condition such as vitiligo. Vitiligo is a kind of skin disease in which some areas of the skin lose pigmentation, render them pale.
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6. Help in Weight Loss
Piperine, based on research conducted at Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea, is also found to be an effective weight loss substance, especially fat loss. The research suggested that piperine can block the formation of fat cells, thus keeping the body fat in check.
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7. Improve Bone Health
White peppers contain many useful minerals such as manganese, cooper and magnesium. Manganese is an essential mineral to have for maintaining bone health, combined with the other two, the effects manifold. Cooper has similar effects as manganese, while magnesium plays the important part of keeping the joints healthy and prevent inflammations.
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8. Work as Pain Reliever
As discussed in earlier point, white peppers contain capsaicin, which can work wonderfully as pain-relieving substance. Which is no wonder some muscle pain reliever gels and sprays has capsaicin as one of the ingredients. It is said that the heat generated by capsaicin can relax the tension on muscles and ease spasm which cause the pain.
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9. Treatment for Arthritis
White peppers are especially a potent treatment for arthritis. There are only a few natural remedies in the world which contain both magnesium and capsaicin, both working hand in hand as anti-inflammatory as well as pain reliever should the inflammation occur. When it comes to arthritis, using white peppers can prove to be beneficial as reliever and prevention of pain.
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10. Cure for Headache
Not only inflammations, white peppers are also effective to treat some other pain from different causes, headaches in this case. As we might all already know, pain is all nerve thing. The good thing is, capsaicin in white peppers can also act as reception blocker for pain transmitter, thus rendering the pain from headache numbed.
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11. Can Clear Nasal Congestion
We take it as a matter of fact that warm foods can make all the difference there is when we feel unwell. Even more so when we use white pepper as additional seasonings. As white pepper generates heat, the nasal tract is also warmed, clearing the congestion and allows us to breath properly.
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12. Prevent Stomach Ulcers
The antioxidant properties as well as digestion boosting power of capsaicin make white peppers such perfect solutions for stomach ulcers prevention. Ulcers are mostly caused by bacteria in stomach and intestines, consuming white peppers can kill the bacteria as well as stabilizing the acidity in the stomach, protecting us from further digestive problems.
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13. Control Blood Pressures
For those who are concerned with their blood pressures, or already have tension problems, adding white peppers to their diets might help addressing the problems at hand. The flavonoids as well as vitamins in white peppers help providing the necessary resources for reinforcing the blood vessels as well as widening them when the blood flow is at its highest.
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14. Maintain Blood Sugar Level
To add white peppers to our diets means to boost up our metabolism greatly. Along with supporting the digestion processes, white peppers also heat our bodies up which in turn supporting the calorie burning activities in metabolism. This is especially beneficial for diabetics, even more so when combined with some other ingredients such as fenugreek seeds and turmeric. Drinking the mixtures with a glass of milk a day can help toning down the blood sugar levels.
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15. Enhance Eyes Vision
Some people have been using white peppers as ingredients for traditional medicine. Mixing them with almonds, sugar crystals, aniseeds and Triphala (a mixture of three different native Indian fruits) will result in herbal medicine for people who have weak eyesights. Of course it is highly advisable for us to consult herbal practitioners before pursuing herbal alternatives for safety reasons and to avoid any complications.
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16. Treatment for Cataracts
The traditional uses of white peppers for eyes-related cures don’t stop at that. In fact, white peppers have been used as cure for cataracts for some times now. By combining white peppers with almonds in 1:5 ratio along with brown sugar and ghee, those who seek alternative, traditional cure for cataracts can get the results which are said to be effective.
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17. Good for Anorexic People
Not only do white peppers heat the body up for faster metabolism as well as better digestion, the hot and spicy taste is also known for its appetite boosting effect. Therefore white peppers is good to alleviate the symptoms of anorexia and low appetite problems. Adding white pepper to soup is a common practice in many households especially to feed children with low appetites.
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18. Treat Impotence and Enhance Stamina
Some of the asian herbs and spices are described to have stamina boosting effects, white peppers is no exception. By mixing a half teaspoon of white pepper and coffee and brewing them with hot water, one can get alternative treatment for impotence. It is also popular tradition to eat boiled eggs with salt and pepper as breakfast for extra stamina throughout the day.
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More White Pepper Benefits
Indeed, here are more health benefits of white peppers:
- Good for hair treatments
- Anti Dandruff
- Good for skin treatments
- Prevents Wrinkles
- Rich source of mineral
- Rich of Antioxidant
- Promotes heart health
- Cures toothache
- Cures Headache
- Cures Cataracts
White peppers are widely used as ingredients for various cooking and medicines for a reason, they’re relatively safe. Therefore, as long as used conservatively, white peppers can give so many benefits with so little risks especially for healthy digestion and metabolism. Although we should keep in mind to seek another alternatives and advice because different people have different physiological conditions.
Alright, so those are the health benefits of white peppers both for internal as well as external uses. Whether you like Asian cuisines of not, adding white peppers to your diets now seems better now, isn’t it? We hope you enjoy reading this article and can learn many things from it. Keep being informed and stay healthy.
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