Reasons We Use Pepper

Do you know what reasons we use pepper? Most of us use pepper to season, to add taste and flavor, and to spice up a dish. But, there’s more to pepper than you might realize.

Some research has linked black pepper marinades to the elimination of heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, which are the cancer-causing chemicals that form when meat is charred or cooked at high temperatures. A group at Kansas State University found that mixing one gram of fine black pepper with 100 grams of ground beef almost completely eliminated the formation of HCAs during cooking. This equates to about a teaspoon of black pepper per half-pound of meat.

Is that too much pepper for you? The author says that mixing pepper with oregano, rosemary, and other herbs in the same spice-to-meat ratio should provide the same carcinogen-lowering benefits. That could be one of the reasons we use pepper.

Pepper may also aid digestion. “There are a number of animal studies that indicate some potential benefit for the gastrointestinal tract,” says Keith Singletary, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois.

“While the evidence isn’t always consistent, some of it suggests that black pepper may stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes that help you feel full after a meal and ease food’s transit through the GI tract. It may also enhance the absorption of some nutrients,” he adds.

That would be another one of the reasons we use pepper.

While not all health experts are sold on these compounds’ benefits, most agree that curcumin and resveratrol have poor bioavailability. This means they tend to pass through the human digestive system without being absorbed. This is where black pepper comes in. “We found that the addition of piperine significantly improved the bioavailability of resveratrol,” says Nihal Ahmad, a professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.  

“Piperine seems to partially block a metabolic process known as glucuronidation, which causes resveratrol to break apart before the gut can absorb it into the bloodstream. By interfering with this process, piperine may help the body take up more resveratrol. And some related studies have shown that piperine has a similar absorption-supporting effect on curcumin.”

If this seems like a lot of science, it is. For us, that makes cooking interesting. We like to figure out some of the science behind our cooking. After some research, we discovered the health benefits are just one more of the reasons we use pepper. Who knew?

So, keep using pepper in your cooking to add taste and flavor. You never know…health benefits would be an extra bonus. If it provides any digestion assistance that’s a plus in my book!

If you like our research along with our recipes, check out a few of our favorite recipes below.