5 Reasons Why Black Pepper Is Truly The King Of Spices

Include this spice in your everyday cooking to add a kick to your dishes as well as to reap its health benefits

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Include this spice in your everyday cooking to add a kick to your dishes as well as to reap its health benefits

An important ingredient in the Indian spice box, black pepper is also used in traditional remedies for its many health benefits. Here are five top reasons why black pepper is considered the ‘king of spices’. 

1. Healing touch: The main active compound in pepper that gives this spice its unique flavour is piperine, which is known to have antioxidant properties. The antioxidants help fight free-radicals to check oxidative stress, thereby reducing the risk of chronic diseases. 

2. It’s gut friendly: Black pepper may also help in digestion. A Time article on black pepper quotes Keith Singletary, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois, as saying, “There are a number of animal studies that indicate some potential benefit for the gastrointestinal tract.” 

3. Good for brain? Researchers are now studying if black pepper has brain-boosting properties. A study on rats published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research found that black pepper proved to be effective in prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. But, further research is needed to establish this finding. 

4. Age-old cold remedy: For centuries, Ayurveda and naturopathy have prescribed black pepper as a remedy for cold and cough because of its medicinal properties. Your grandmother may have tried this home cure on your mother and your mother on you, for the age-old black pepper-honey concoction is effective in providing relief...

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