Showing posts with label black pepper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black pepper. Show all posts

Friday, August 1, 2014

Maintain your Body Weight with Spices

Losing weight can be a lot easier if you spice up your food. Spices not only make your food taste good, they are also known to aid fat burning, boost metabolism, help you stay healthy and fight off other health risks. Spices help stabilize blood sugar by controlling insulin levels in the body. When blood sugar is stable, you are more likely to burn fat and not store calories as excess weight.

Spices are the best antioxidants and have powerful anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties. For all the good reasons for health, why not add these top five fat-burning spices to our diet and ramp up weight loss as well. In the following post, learn about the spices that have been known to help in weight loss and get you to your goal in a healthy and happy way.

Ginger: Research studies suggest that ginger has fat burning and metabolism accelerating properties which can burn the body fat. Also, this fat burning spice has been found to contain satiating properties that helps keep a check on over-eating! Ginger tends to increase the pH value of stomach acids, thus reducing the rates of gastric secretions and accelerating the activity of the enzymes necessary for digestion. Furthermore, ginger reduces triglyceride and cholesterol levels and thus helps in improving cardiovascular health. It elevates the levels of high density lipoproteins and lowers the risks of stroke and heart attack by improving the blood circulation.

Cloves: Cloves are another one of the spices that have been appreciated for their help in speeding up metabolism and increasing weight loss. Clove consumption is said to increase glucose metabolism, thus lowering blood glucose levels, helping the body regulate insulin levels & in turn keeps diabetes at bay. Also, cloves have antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties. The active compounds in cloves, eugenol and isoeugenol, possess both anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant properties. Furthermore, cloves help maintain cardiovascular health, improve blood circulation, relieves flatulence and indigestion. These are also known to boost energy level and relieve stress.

Cinnamon: This ancient spice has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any spice. A study published in Diabetes care (2003) showed that 1/4th  tsp to 1 tsp daily of cinnamon helps metabolize sugar up to 20 times better than without cinnamon, hence boosting the body’s weight loss ability as well as controlling diabetes! Because cinnamon balances blood sugar levels it has the added advantage of stabilizing mood and energy levels as well as lowering LDL and triglyceride levels. (but remember, cinnamin contains coumarin, a chemical which can lead to liver damage if consumed in large amounts). 

Turmeric: Turmeric is one of the popular spices of the Indian kitchens. It contains beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps protect liver from free radical damage, while helping body metabolize fats by decreasing the fat storage rate in liver cells. Studies suggest that Curcumin, a yellow-orange pigment found in turmeric, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which helps protect the brain against damage, slows down the development of Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease and prevents heart diseases.

Black pepper: The main component of black pepper, piperine, is said to boost fat metabolism by inhibiting differentiation of fat cells in the body. studies suggest that piperine has anti-obese properties and reduces triglyceride, total cholesterol, VLDL and LDL levels, and increases HDL cholerterol. These results also show that piperine can help in weight loss and management. This kitchen ingredient is also beneficial in diseases like cholera, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems.

Chillies: Eating chillies can make you lose weight by stimulating the metabolism, improving circulation and warming the body. Chillies in moderate quantities induce 'Thermogenesis' that promotes sweating, which is a cooling mechanism of the body to combat heat. Capsaicin, a component found in chillies, is responsible for this effect as it stimulates certain receptors in the central nervous system to create the heat producing effect. Additionally, chillies help relieve nerve pain and boost energy levels as well.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Traditional Home Remedies with Black Pepper!


Black pepper (Piper nigrum, family Piperaceae) is cultivated in India, Egypt and Madagascar. It occupies a prominent place in Indian kitchens owing to its aromatic, culinary & medicinal properties. Black pepper is rich in iron, manganese & dietary fiber. Piperine, a principle alkaloid found in black pepper helps in promoting brain functions, inhibits metabolism of nutrients present in body, improves digestion and reduces the incidence of stomach ulcers and colon cancer. It also acts as an anti-depressant. The fruits are widely used as an active ingredient in various home remedies for a variety of illnesses such as colic, tooth decay, liver problems, lung disease, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea and urinary disorders. 

Find in this post some useful natural remedies with black pepper that would help to deal with common health ailments.
  • For asthma, boil 8-10 black pepper, 2 clove buds & about 10 basil leaves in water for 15 minutes. Filter and add two tsp honey. Drink the same with milk. 
  • Take a cup of water and add to it ¼ tsp black pepper, 2 tsp lemon juice and honey. Drinking this preparation would help reduce weight.
  • To treat sexual debility, heat a tsp of clarified butter in a pan & add 3-4 black pepper to it, followed by a glass of milk. Now add 3-4 crushed almonds and let it come to a boil. Add sugar to taste. This formulation is beneficial when taken at bed time.
  • To keep a check on cholesterol level, add ¼ tsp black pepper powder in a glass of butter milk. Mix finely diced onion to it and drink.
  • To cure all kinds of cough, grind black pepper and add sugar to it. Take it with clarified butter.
  • Grind 5-6 black pepper & mix with honey. Lick this paste to relieve dry cough. This remedy is also effective as appetite stimulant.
  • To cure toothache, mix powdered black pepper in clove oil. Apply this paste on the affected part.
  • In case of indigestion, mix black pepper powder in ginger juice. Take this formulation after meals.
  • For curing skin allergies and eczema, prepare a paste by mixing black pepper powder in clarified butter. Topical application of this paste is said to be beneficial.
  • Take equal amounts of powdered black pepper, cinnamon, cumin & cardamom seeds.  Sniffing the same would induce sneezing and help treat blocked nose
  • While preparing tea, add 2-4 black pepper powder, ginger, a clove and few basil leaves. It works as anti-tussive and is also effective against cold.
  • Administrating powdered black pepper with jaggery is said to be effective in curing chronic cold.
  • Chewing 8-10 black pepper in betel leaf is known to help in gaining weight.

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