I adore Black Pepper: but is it healthy?
I'm really curious about what you guys have to say about this.
For the longest time: I've added fresh-cracked pepper to almost anything. I love the sensation and it's versatility. My additional motivation was because I heard that: Spicy items; especially black pepper, help speed/excersise your metabolism.
I was chatting with someone in the office last week:
they tell me this is actually a myth and that there are actual reasons not to add it...(and rather to choose cayanne instead).
Serious Eaters: Do you love black pepper?
What do you know about this myth/non-myth?
Do you have any resources you can share?
TIA dudes :D
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
19 Comments:
Okay, I'll bite. Are you actually being serious? I have never, ever, EVER in my entire cooking life heard that there are reasons not to use black pepper other than if I sniff too fast I sneeze.
Love pepper, in any form.
There is no myth/non-myth.
Id REALLY love to see something in print.
900 bajillion chefs/cooks/casual cooks/caterers/michelin starred restaurants/classically trained/home ec class taking 13 year olds/beer drinking frat guys with a pizza and a pepper grinder cant be wrong.
ChelleyD01 at 12:12PM on 09/14/09
Agree with ChelleyD01 - really? There is no way pepper is bad for you. This can't be a real post. You might as well ask for the health benefits of lard. Pepper is a healthy alternative to salt laden marinades, sauces, and seasonings that really are harmful to blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. - I have high BP, so I know.
That said, I do love me a pinch of CAYENNE pepper every now and then.
prncs79 at 12:18PM on 09/14/09
If someone told me that I couldn't use black pepper for health reasons, I think I'd bawl my head off.
Did your officemate give you any concrete reasons or sources for her opinion?
avaryne at 12:41PM on 09/14/09
Hungreychristel has always posted responsibly. I don't know the answer to this, but I can't believe that it is harmful. @Chelley is right about the 900 bajillion. There is nothing tastier than freshly ground pepper on a salad of any kind. Nice on fresh pasta, too.
Keep grinding.
janaatwg at 1:00PM on 09/14/09
*BAH* I'll have to smack her for telling me such LIES.
Thanks for the feedback guys, this is all I need haha
The officemate who told me such tragic news (yes avaryne I did shed a tear) almost-always has reliable health information. She told me "her mom told her to avoid it". I wasn't going to ban black pepper from my daily meals until I spoke with serious eaters anyway :D
Long live Piper nigrum!
Additional praise for pepper: The 5th century Syriac Book of Medicines prescribes pepper (or perhaps long pepper) for such illnesses as constipation, diarrhea, earache, gangrene, heart disease, hernia, hoarseness, indigestion, insect bites, insomnia, joint pain, liver problems, lung disease, oral abscesses, sunburn, tooth decay, and toothaches.
- Translation from The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition, Vol. 2, Dover. ISBN 0-486-27587-6. p. 160
The only semi-negative research material I found was Pepper contains small amounts of safrole, a mildly carcinogenic compound. - http://books.google.com/books?id=-tg7R4hU8hkC&lpg=PP1&dq=CRC%20handbook%20of%20alternative%20cash%20crops&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
I have already decided that when my server comes by and offers the extra cracks I love so dearly: I will definietly welcome it. :D
hungrychristel at 1:11PM on 09/14/09
I use so many kinds of pepper. Black, white, green, sometimes I mix them up. Also ground peppers, ancho, jalapeno, chipotle. Pepper flakes, pepper sauces. I am not understanding what is unhealthy.
Someone elaborate on the down side of pepper.
christel I think you should go back and tell her the evils of salt, ketchup and mustard and anything else she likes and make her life bland. That is what I would do.
JerzeeTomato at 1:24PM on 09/14/09
based on http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=74 I would say it aids in digestion, with the whole HCl thing. However, just like it makes you want to drink water with spicy foods, and despite the mouth disagreeing with that action, pepper causes your body to lose some extra water, so you really should listen to that thirsty instinct. That was the down side. I was surprised to see the nutritional facts showing it has iron and manganese.
blizcheetah at 2:13PM on 09/14/09
I think you use way too small an amount to really get much nutrition from, but most spices are healthy and contain good things.
KarynMC at 3:11PM on 09/14/09
I love peppers! All of em!
Fresh ground sea salt and black pepper are two of my most used spices in the kitchen. If not the most.
AyeEat at 3:11PM on 09/14/09
McGee (On Food and Cooking) doesn't raise any red flags about black pepper. On the other hand, he only says of nutmeg that it's reputed to be a hallucinogen in large quantities, and I yet found when researching the toxicity of lilies to cats (very, very, toxic) that nutmeg is quite toxic in large quanitity.
I googled "toxicity of black pepper" and found that it's apparently used as a pesticide against boll weevils, and found this site that said that it is toxic in "large quantities," but doesn't say what those are, or what the toxicity is beyond the symptoms we associate with hot pepper. It's vanishingly unlikely that you use enough to be toxic - especially without the warning of symptoms.
http://www.mdidea.com/products/new/new068.html
lemonfair at 3:37PM on 09/14/09
I have fibromyalgia, and I'm not supposed to have black pepper (I risk it), but cayenne pepper is OK. My nutritionist says that black pepper can lead to inflammation, where cayenne can help calm the inflammation.
If I didn't eat everything I wasn't supposed to I'd probably feel better, but I'd rather have my black pepper, tomatoes, eggplant, red meat and dairy and take an extra painkiller.
KateRuby at 8:13AM on 09/15/09
Capsaicin, the compound that gives red chili pepper or cayenne pepper its powerful kick, creates heat generation, which helps burn more calories immediately after a meal. Black pepper has similar effects.
Studies have shown that on average a meal containing capsaicin can temporarily increase metabolism by about 8 percent over a person's normal rate, an amount considered fairly negligible.
As for pepper having negative effects, and what food doesn't (toast anyone?)... Edamus, bibamus, gaudeamus nam cras moriemur.
Pavlov at 9:31AM on 09/15/09
...wow: this is an interesting research topic. Thanks again for all the info peeps. Feel free to provide more info. Highly facinating.
hungrychristel at 9:49AM on 09/15/09
I was taught that in an emergency, a small leak in your car's radiator could be plugged by adding 1 small can of black pepper to the radiator!?!?
bubbamom at 10:09AM on 09/15/09
"Daaamn, it smells like peppa up in heeere!"
Kerosena at 4:30PM on 09/15/09
The only negative health effects from peppercorns I have heard of are for people with certain health issues. There are people who are allergic to pepper. Pepper flakes can get stuck in the stomach lining or intestinal lining for people with diverticulitis and certain ulcers - but some ulcers and other infammation are treated with ground pepper or black pepper essential oil in homeopathy.
KateRuby, since black pepper is a NOT nightshade, unlike every other fruit called a "pepper", it should not aggravate people with autoimmune inflamation. #1 nightshade to cut out - tobacco - reduce inflammation and taste all of the flavors of your food.
I personally love a variety of peppercorns. I always have black, red, green, and white peppercorns on hand.
If you are a real pepper lover, try white pepper in a batch of Pfeffernüsse, Northern European cookies made with nuts and ground pepper.
minutia at 5:20PM on 09/15/09
Minutia - I know it's not a nightshade, it's just something my nutritionist had mentioned. However, I've just done some research and, she's wrong!
Meanwhile, I haven't smoked in years....
KateRuby at 9:24PM on 09/15/09
Found a pretty sweet Pepper-blog today if anyone's interested called: Confessions of a Chilihead. Good research from what I've seen! AND I had to give her credit on my blog for it!
hungrychristel at 10:06AM on 09/16/09
Nothing is wrong with black pepper...it's actually the capsacin in the cayenne or chili pepper that is supposed to help rev up your metabolism so if that is what you are trying to do then exchange the black for the red otherwise you and abuse pepper because it's all good for you!
tenille10 at 11:13AM on 09/16/09