Pepping Up Health with the Pepper Shaker?

“Would you please pass the pepper?” is a frequent petition heard around the dinner table. It’s a distant second to the more popular of the age-old condiment pairing (i.e. salt), but unlike the salt shaker solicitation, passing along the pepper shaker can do a world of good for those wanting to perk up their potatoes or any other dish in need of extra pizzazz.

The health promoting properties of pepper is due to something called piperine, a chemical component of pepper that gives it its spicy taste and scent. The potency of piperine also increases the staying power of foods by delaying the time in which it takes the body to digest and pass along nutrients to the array of members that compose the digestive system. In short, piperine increases foods’ bioavailability.

Now, this might sound like something of a weird thing to pinpoint as a nutritional plus. You might be asking yourself, “Is it really that big a deal to delay the length of time it takes to digest a food?” Well, as simple as it sounds, yes. The reason is because the nutrients in quality foods are our lifeline to avoiding sickness and disease. If the nutrients our body consumes get flushed out in a relatively short span of time – which happens to each and every one of us every day to varying degrees, depending on the foods we eat in combination with other foods – then we’re essentially wasting away one of the main points of eating well. If the body doesn’t absorb the nutrients quality foods provide, we might as well eat Twinkies all day.

Thankfully, pepper helps preserve the active components of nutrients so that they remain in the body for longer periods of time before the intestinal tract takes over. One such pro-active nutrient is curcumin, which is what gives spicy dishes like curry or flavors like turmeric their fiery quality. Curcumin has been found to be one of the most potent natural cancer fighters available today; a study done by the National Cancer Institute says diets rich in curcumin may explain why the rates of colorectal, prostate and lung cancers are so low in India.

Piperine’s health properties extend into the emotional sphere as well. According to the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, piperine improves brain functioning, independent of how high or how low the dose is (i.e. the positive effects of piperine were seen in low doses and in high doses of piperine), including functioning that relates to depression. Another study regarding depression buttressed this finding. A study published in the September 2008 edition of the journal Psychopharmacology found that curcumin increases serotonin levels as supplementing with curcumin and piperine slows the oxidative enzyme process. In short, curcumin and piperine act as natural antidepressants.

What a great thing it is to know that the pepper shaker – something so commonplace to the dinner table that it’s often taken for granted – is a natural health promoter!

This Thanksgiving, instead of reaching for the salt shaker – a condiment that ought to be avoided, especially if it’s table salt – reach for the pepper shaker and pile on the piperine!