Eating peppery food may have its benefits. Well only if that pepper is actually black pepper. Recent research has shown that piperine, the flavor compound in black pepper, could be a fat fighting compound.
Although the research has only been tested on lab animals, it shows that pepper works by blocking the formation of new fat cells in the body.
Researches wrote in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a journal published by the American Chemical Society (ACS), that piperine fights fat by interfering with the gene activity that causes fat cells to form and mature.
“Our findings suggest that piperine, a major component of black pepper, inhibits fat cell differentiation … thus leading to its potential use in the treatment of obesity-related diseases,” writes researcher Ui-Hyun Park of Sejong University in Seoul, Korea, in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The black pepper theory is still in the early phases of research, so don’t go overboard just yet. This isn’t the first time black pepper has been related to health news. It is also known to reduce inflammation, reduce cholesterol and lower blood sugar. And it also causes sneezing.
I love black pepper fresh from peppermills!