Spices have long historically been a valued trading piece – and one of the reasons why was sometimes their medicinal uses. Meet one of our favorites: Black pepper!
Though less used now as a currency, black pepper still has a wide range of medicinal uses, especially as an essential oil. Read on to learn more!
Black Pepper Essential Oil Health Benefits:
Black pepper essential oil offers countless remedial properties, including: antibacterial, antiseptic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, laxative, rubefacient, stimulant, and more!
Check out more great uses below:
Antibacterial activity:
Pepper`s antibacterial properties help fight against insect bites and infections.
Regular consumption of this spice cleanses the arteries, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis.
Antioxidant activity:
Its antioxidant properties help prevent or repair damage by free radicals, which in turn protects against liver problems, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.
Good for the stomach:
It increases the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which in turn improves digestion. Healthy digestion is essential to prevent colic, constipation, and diarrhea.
Black pepper also prevents the formation of intestinal gas and it promotes urination and sweating, which helps remove toxic matter from the body.
Neurological health:
Piperine, one of the major compounds of black pepper, has been found to reduce cognitive malfunction and memory impairment.
Respiratory relief:
Pepper relieves nasal congestion and sinusitis, due to its ability to dissolve mucus and phlegm in the respiratory tract.
Skin health:
Pepper helps cure vitiligo, a condition which causes areas of the skin to turn white. It has been scientifically shown that piperine present in pepper stimulates the production of pigment.
Weight loss:
The outer layer of the peppercorn stimulates the breakdown of fat cells, which makes it ideal for blasting fat and shedding weight in an all-natural way.
The benefits of black pepper essential oil heavily depend on the way it is consumed. It can be ingested, inhaled, or applied topically. Read on for more in-depth information regarding the three ways of using black pepper essential oil and the benefits attributed to each, respectively.
Aromatically:
While black pepper essential oil is mostly known for its ability to relax the body physically, it relaxes the mind, too. When inhaled, often used aromatically with oils like lavender and juniper, it helps ease mental stress and help people deal with the stress of smoking cessation.
Orally:
When ingested, such as added to BBQ or steak sauce, black pepper essential oil provides sesquiterpenes,
potent antioxidants which are known to promote urination and sweating, two ways in which the body eliminates toxins.
This oil also increases bile in the stomach, which helps break down food and ensure healthy digestion.
Topically:
Ultimately, using black pepper oil topically along with carrier oil, helps relax the muscle and alleviate cramps and pulls. Its antispasmodic properties alleviate cramps while its antioxidant properties remove uric acid from the blood, making it beneficial for people suffering from gout, arthritis, and rheumatism.