6 Health Benefits of Piperine (and Black Pepper)

Are Black Pepper and Piperine the Same Thing?

Everyone who has ever sprinkled black pepper on their favorite recipes knows what piperine tastes like.

Even if they didn’t realize it was piperine.

Piperine is the powerful compound that actually gives black pepper its unique strong flavor. 

In addition to being famously used in cooking as a component of black pepper, piperine is a bioactive compound that has a long history of use in medicine.  It was  first isolated from black pepper in 1819 by the Danish chemist, Hans Oersted.

Today, piperine has numerous demonstrated health and therapeutic properties that can aid in the treatment of some chronic diseases.

Let’s talk about some of the science-backed health benefits and therapeutic uses of piperine.

What Is Piperine Used For?

1. Increased nutrient absorption

Piperine has bio-enhancing properties that have been shown to increase the absorption of several nutrients in the body. As such, taking piperine means you’ll get more nutrients out of the food you consume. This applies to common vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamins A, C, and B6, as well as selenium and beta-carotene.

Piperine’s nutrient-absorption boosting benefits also apply to the very important, but hard to absorb nutrient curcumin, the bioactive compound in turmeric.  Curcumin  has important benefits for your heart and brain as well as anti-cancer properties.  Unfortunately, curcumin has poor availability, which means it's not easily absorbed into your bloodstream. Piperine significantly increases the absorption of curcumin by making it easier for it to pass through the intestinal walls. And that's why you should ensure your curcumin supplements contain some piperine as an ingredient.

2. Fighting inflammation

Inflammation is your immune system’s response to harmful stimuli such as pathogens and toxic compounds. It helps initiate the healing process and protects your body against illness and infection. However, when this immune response lingers, it can lead to chronic inflammation that may have a negative effect on your tissues and organs, increasing the risk of certain serious  health conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

Piperine has powerful anti-inflammatory benefits that can help keep your immune response in equilibrium.

3. Better brain function

Piperine may help improve your brain’s executive functions in several ways. For one, piperine has antidepressant-like effects as it may improve the neurotransmission of certain chemicals, including serotonin, dopamine, and beta-endorphin. These chemicals also play an important role in improving memory.

Additionally, since piperine helps reduce inflammation, it can help keep your brain healthy and improve cognitive function, improving your attention and reasoning skills.

In addition, one study found that piperine may help protect the insulating layer around nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. However, the potential health benefits of this are still under study.

4. Stabilizing blood sugar levels

Piperine can be used to support improved blood sugar management. It helps prevent insulin resistance, which is a condition that impairs your cells’ ability to respond well to insulin. As such, piperine can be used for diabetes management when combined with anti-diabetic medications – some studies have shown that piperine’s bio-enhancing properties increase the effectiveness of metformin, a medication used to manage blood sugar levels.

One study that looked into the effects of piperine in obesity-induced insulin resistance found that piperine could be used to significantly reduce body weight, fat mass, and blood sugar levels.

5. Supporting healthy weight loss

Piperine may have thermogenic properties that increase the body’s basal metabolic rate. In fact, thermogenesis is the main way piperine increases nutrient absorption in the body.

By improving your body's thermogenesis, piperine increases your internal temperature, which helps in the breakdown of fat cells. For this reason, piperine can be useful in weight management support and can be beneficial when incorporated into a weight loss plan.

6. Antioxidant properties

An antioxidant is a substance that prevents the damage of cells by free radicals, which are unstable molecules your body produces as a reaction to stress and environmental pressures. 

Piperine contains potent antioxidant properties that can help lower the risk of chronic illnesses like atherosclerosis and heart disease.

How to Add Piperine to Your Diet and

  Why Piperine is One of the Most Effective Nutritional Supplements

Chances are you have black pepper in your kitchen. It’s one of the most commonly used spices worldwide and has long been regarded as beneficial to one's health. But, as mentioned earlier,  it's the piperine in black pepper that provides the health benefits.

That’s because piperine is a powerful antioxidant, is key in blood sugar management, supports healthy weight loss, and fights inflammation. But possibly its most important role is because of its supportive properties. That is, piperine increases nutrient absorption which means your body will absorb more nutrients out of the vitamins and minerals you consume. This makes piperine an extremely important addition to your diet. Go here for more information about buying Piperine extract powder. 

Additionally, piperine is a very important supporting ingredient that ensures proper absorption of all the necessary ingredients in supplements. In fact, the highest quality nutritional supplements include piperine as an ingredient to insure absorption and effectiveness.  For this reason, Lean Factor always includes piperine in all its wellness supplements including the most popular ones shown below:  

EmpowHER for women is the ultimate women’s supplement for stress relief, anti-aging, and hormone balance. Most often seen benefits from  EmpowHER include:  sustained, all-day energy (without stimulants or caffeine);  improved sleep, relief from PMS and menopause symptoms (including hot flashes); reduced anxiety and better mood.   For more information about EmpowerHER, go here.

Peak Male for men -- Peak Male is a Total Mens’ Health Supplement that addresses the two main factors that cause men’s health to decline: high stress and low testosterone.  For more information about Peak Male, go here.

Limitless Mind -- Limitless Mind is a nootropic supplement that improves mental performance, boosts memory, and elevates mood. It's made from all-natural ingredients to provide you with lasting cognitive benefits. For more information about Limitless Mind, go here.