Can Piperine Positively Impact Your Health?
Tucked away in their kitchen cupboards, most people will have a jar or two of black pepper. A common cooking ingredient, it’s often used to spice up our meals, but did you know that it also contains a compound that can be incredibly beneficial to your health?
We’re talking about a nutrient known as piperine. Often referred to by its trademarked name, Bioperine, piperine is one of the active ingredients in black pepper. Largely responsible for its unique flavour, it has long been recognised as offering a slew of health benefits.
In fact, all the way back to ancient times, black pepper was valued for its medicinal applications. Used by long-ago physicians, it was frequently prescribed to relieve stomach aches and treat many other common ailments.
While piperine’s health benefits were recognised as far back as pre-history, however, they were not always fully understood. With the help of modern science and clinical research, this has now changed, with the true value of the compound only just beginning to be realised.
Greater nutrient absorption
When it comes to understanding piperine’s potential role in modern medicine, one of its most talked-about applications is its ability to improve nutrient absorption within the body. This process is often referred to as ‘bio-enhancement’, and it means that an individual is able to take more beneficial nutrients from the foods they consume.
This is useful because of the way that many nutrients act once they’re in our bodies. Take turmeric and curcumin as examples. When we ingest these compounds, we absorb only a fraction of what ends up in our stomachs.
When consumed alongside piperine, however, we’re able to utilise more of these nutrients per serving. This same trend is also seen with vitamins A, B6 and C, as well as beta-carotene, selenium, and more.
Improved metabolism
As well as encouraging greater nutrient absorption, piperine enhances our metabolism. It does this by improving thermogenesis, the process responsible for breaking down fat cells and maintaining internal temperature.
As a result, piperine can be very useful in helping people to regulate their weight. While it is certainly not a miracle cure for slimming down, it can nonetheless be useful for those who are dieting, improving the results when used in combination with a dedicated weight-loss plan.
Raised dopamine and serotonin
Dopamine and serotonin are two of the chemicals that most heavily impact our mood and overall mental state, and there is some evidence to suggest that consuming piperine may also increase their presence in our bodies.
That’s because the nutrient works in combination with these chemicals, boosting their levels. Due to the role dopamine and serotonin play in our brains, this can therefore help to induce positive feelings, which boost our mood and make us happier and more upbeat.
Improved memory and recall
As we explained above, piperine may be effective in improving the neurotransmission of certain chemicals, including dopamine and serotonin. The latter, along with something known as beta-endorphin, play an important role in remembering, and both are stimulated by the presence of piperine.
The increased presence of these chemicals in our bodies has a number of effects, among them, an improvement in our memory and recall. This can be particularly beneficial for ageing individuals, as many people find that these executive functions decline as they grow older.
Improved immune system
When your immune system is not functioning to an optimal degree, it can overreact to certain stimuli. In order to maintain good overall health, it’s therefore important to keep a handle on this oversensitivity, and this is something that piperine can help with.
According to a study carried out in 2010, piperine can slow the reaction time of lymphocytes, which has the effect of reducing inflammation and lessening the incidence of immune overresponse.
Improved mental skills
As we mentioned above, piperine can be beneficial for your memory and recall, and it can also have a positive impact on some of your other executive functions. These include both your attention span and reasoning skills, as well as your motivation.
As a result, piperine can potentially help to make people more productive, while also sharpening their mental abilities and enhancing their intellect. Because of this, it’s especially useful for those who feel like their brains aren’t firing on all cylinders. There are claims that it can help to keep a lid on your stress levels too, which can relax you and allow you to focus more on your work and less on what’s worrying you.
If you’re interested in adding piperine to your diet, it’s very easy to get hold of. As the compound is extracted from black pepper, incorporating this into your meals is one effective way to increase your intake. If you’d prefer to try a more concentrated form, on the other hand, there are a number of supplements available, such as Qualia, where piperine is an active ingredient.
