Can a diabetic eat Black pepper?
Yes, a diabetic can eat black pepper which is also known as ‘king of spices’. Black pepper can spice up your food, enhance the flavour when used in moderation. If you find a dish too dull, you can add little black pepper and it may turn lip-smacking. Black pepper contains vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, antioxidants and great minerals too.
Studies show that black pepper can help regulate blood sugar levels and blood pressure. So, black pepper is in a way home remedy for diabetes, hypertension and few other health conditions. Black pepper oil inhibits enzymes that breakdown starch and glucose. This will in turn delay glucose absorption and regulate blood sugar levels.
What are the benefits of Black pepper?
Black pepper is a popular spice known for its wide range of medicinal values and health benefits.
- Studies in laboratories show black pepper can regulate blood cholesterol, blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
- Active compounds in black pepper can boost white blood cells that can help fight harmful bacteria and viruses.
- Tea made from black pepper can boost immunity and with sore throat.
- Rich in antioxidants, black pepper can help regulate blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health.
- Black pepper helps in digestion, and in absorbing nutrients.
- Adding just a little black pepper to turmeric can enhance the health benefits turmeric can offer you.
- Black pepper can offer antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Piperine, a chemical compound present in pepper can offer great anti-inflammatory properties.
- Black pepper is loaded with nutrients that can boost your metabolism and help you lose weight.
- Adding little black pepper to honey and consuming it can help boost immunity.
- Some people believe that smell or flavour of black pepper can help fight anxiety.
What are the side effects of Black pepper?
- As black pepper can lower blood sugar levels and boost drug absorption, it can have severe effect on blood sugars in diabetics. Sometimes, black pepper can reduce blood sugar levels so severely that one might need to adjust diabetic drug dosage when eating black pepper.
- Though black pepper makes food delicious and offers great health benefits, consuming black pepper in large amounts can have side effects.
- If you have stones (calcium oxalate) in your kidneys, black pepper can have adverse effect on yoru health. It is very likely that your doctor will ask you to avoid black pepper and few other foods such as chocolate, beetroot, black tea, rhubarb, soya, nuts, spinach etc.
- If black pepper gets into yoru eyes, you may have a painful burn or irritation. Even eating black pepper in large amounts can cause irritation in throat or stomach.
- If black pepper gets into yoru nose, it may irritate nerve endings and mucous membrane. This may make you sneeze.
- Children can experience severe irritation from even small amounts of black pepper. One needs to be careful about how much black pepper one adds to child food.
- Black pepper can trigger asthma symptoms in asthmatics. It can cause anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that is very rare.
