A Pinch of Pepper
Salt and pepper have been used in combination for hundreds of years. Though too much salt in your diet can kill you, the more pepper you consume the healthier you’ll be. Pepper is a spice that adds a bold, distinctive punch to almost any type of savory cooking. It’s listed on the ingredients in countless prepackaged sauces, and almost everyone can detect it. Not everyone is keen on lots of pepper, but used in combination with other ingredients, it makes a splendid substitute for salt. If you’re in the market for a new fish seasoning, try out Henry Black Spice Company’s Seafood Spice Blend. It includes black pepper pretty far up on the ingredient list, and it’ll make your fish jump right off the plate with flavor.
But why use pepper? Aside from the advantages for your tongue, it also boasts a number of advantages for your body and general wellbeing. One of the general effects of this famous seasoning includes a boost to weight loss efforts. Pepper isn’t a miracle weight loss spice, but due to peppercorn’s ability to break down fat cells, your body is able to expel or use the fat cells instead of storing them. If you’re trying to lose weight, storing fat is your number one enemy.
Another benefit is a reduction in heart and liver ailments. Pepper has antibacterial qualities, which can help expel and kill infections in your body. Since it helps kill infection and destroy toxins, and the liver is all about removing toxins from the bloodstream, these two are fast friends. Pepper also helps remove buildup in artery walls, which makes it a friend of the heart and a fighter of heart diseases.
Similar to the antibacterial properties, pepper also has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants provide a reduced cancer risk because they kill off the free radicals that occur in everyone’s body. Free radicals can lead to cancer cells developing and thriving, so pepper in turn helps keep cancer cells at bay.
Probably the most famous of the pepper effects is it’s benefit to the sinuses. We all closely associate the smell of pepper with sneezing, and in times when sinus congestion is an issue, pepper can help clear you up (making it a great remedy for a head cold). It actually causes your mucus to thin, and usually when your nose is stopped up it’s because the mucous is too thick to flow free. Aside from general nasal clearance, pepper can also help asthma sufferers because it has anti-inflammatory properties (asthma is inflamed respiratory passages), and it helps expel things in the airways through sneezing.
But Pepper does even more. Specifically, pepper is unparalleled in the realm of digestion because pepper increases hydrochloric acid secretion in your gut. Hydrochloric acid sounds dangerous, but it’s vital to a smooth digestive process (it’s what your gastric juice is made of). Improper digestion leads to a litany of bowel and intestinal woes, so having a good start in the stomach is key.
So a little pepper goes a long way. It’s great for general health, and increases your body’s ability to process the food you take. Your body will function better, your food will taste better, and you’ll be a better person for it all. Again, a good seasoning with pepper is the Seafood Spice Blend from Henry Black Spice Company, and if you aren’t into fish check out their other seasonings (all have black pepper) for more great ways to make your food taste better. So keep going against the grain and add more pepper to your diet.