Pepper or pepper is a familiar spice to Vietnamese people. This spice is often added to dishes, helping to create aroma for food.
Not just a spice, pepper also contains many unexpected health values that many people do not know about.
Effects of pepper
According to the document “Medicinal plants, remedies and specialties” by pharmacists Pham Thiep – Le Van Thuan – Bui Van Chuong, pepper has the scientific name Piper nigrum L., a climbing plant grown in many places.
According to Oriental medicine, pepper has a spicy taste and hot properties, affecting the two meridians and the colon. Pepper has the effect of eliminating colds, relieving pain, helping with digestion, and preventing vomiting; Treats stomach pain caused by cold, vomiting, and indigestion.
Pepper is often used to stimulate taste buds and help make food delicious.
Herbalist Bui Dac Sang, Hanoi Oriental Medicine Association, added that pepper has the effect of increasing gastric and pancreatic juices, stimulating digestion.
In addition, pepper also has antiseptic and parasite-killing effects. The smell of pepper repels insects, so pepper is used to protect woolen clothes from moth bites.
According to Mr. Sang, black pepper contains piperine, an active ingredient that helps prevent cancer. Piperine has also been shown to prevent obesity and diabetes. Black pepper can also help control blood pressure and burn excess fat.
Researchers found that piperine supplementation not only significantly reduced body weight, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol but also increased HDL cholesterol levels. Therefore, people can often add pepper to dishes.
Black pepper has been shown to have excellent antioxidant and antibacterial effects, helping to enhance the health of the digestive tract. These beneficial antioxidants can help stabilize blood sugar.
Some remedies from pepper
In folk medicine, pepper is also used as a medicine to stimulate digestion, relieve pain (treat toothache), stomach ache, use 1-3g a day in powder or tablet form.
- Treat stomach ache due to cold and indigestion: 2-4g pepper, decoct and drink or grind into powder and take pills.
- Treat stomach ache due to cold: Pepper powder 5g, plain rice 50-60g. Cook into porridge, when cooked, sprinkle pepper powder and eat while the porridge is still warm.
- Treats bowel obstruction and abdominal pain: 21 crushed peppercorns, 200ml of water, boil until 100ml remains, remove the residue and add 20g of pepper. Excellent drink.
- Treat toothache: Take equal amounts of pepper and socks, grind them, mix with beeswax, and make small balls. Use 1 crushed tablet at a time and insert it into the painful tooth area.
Experts note that using pepper in large doses can irritate the stomach lining, causing congestion and local inflammation.
“To ensure safety, people need to consult a medical expert before using pepper as medicine“, Mr. Sang emphasized.
