With spring season at the peak and beautiful colors of nature around, if you are not be able to admire them wholeheartedly because of sneezing, itchy eyes and runny nose… then don’t worry you are not the only one…
You, my friend…. might be one of us who suffers from spring allergies. Spring allergies occur when plants release pollen, so people sensitive to pollen suffer from symptoms like nasal congestion, colds and cough.
Adding Pippali i.e long pepper in your routine can help. It can be a great addition to your daily regime to avoid the occasional struggle that this season brings.
Long Pepper or commonly known as Pippali in India is native to North-eastern and Southern India and Sri Lanka. Its excellent for the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, nervous and reproductive systems.
Long pepper is the fruit of the piper lognum flowering plant and super beneficial in its unripe form. It is small, blackish green with tiny spikes. It has been admired for its exceptional combination of the pungent and sweet taste. This gives a unique mouth-feel with its distinctive flavor.
The unripe long peppers are sun-dried and converted into a powder for extensive ayurvedic/ medicinal usage. Long pepper has tons of health benefits including cough, cold, congestion, diarrhea, nausea, flatulence, anti-parasitical, anti-microbial and fever.
But please be careful like every other spice, use long pepper in moderation since this is also a very strong and potent spice.
Health Benefits
1. Long pepper is helpful in weight loss
Long pepper contains an active ingredient piperine, which increases thermogenesis in the human body. In other words, long pepper helps release metabolic heat energy in our body which aids in fat loss. It also boosts absorption of the other active ingredients i.e it increases the bioavailability of other essential nutrients like amino acids, beta-carotene, glucose and curcumin. Studies shows that piperine may block the formation of new fat cells, it interferes with the activity of genes that control the formation of new fat cells. Thus, it may help fight obesity.
2. Long pepper can treat respiratory problems
Long pepper is very effective in respiratory conditions like colds, coughs, congestion, and asthma. Long pepper’s antibacterial properties help fight infections and its anti-inflammatory properties ease inflammation. Its unique medicinal make help loose the mucus and remove congested stagnation that might become harmful for lung health. Thus, it can help improve lung strength, cleanse the lungs, and develop lung-health.
3. Long pepper is excellent for digestive health
Long pepper also known as pippali means “drink and digest”. As the name suggests it helps digestion and appetite stimulation. It is widely used in in combination with dry ginger, black pepper commonly names as “Tikatu” for treating indigestion. With its unique properties long pepper can improve absorption of other nutrients, stimulate digestive enzymes and ease digestion.
Cooking with long pepper
1. Long pepper is commonly used in dry curry mixes or rubs usually in non-vegetarian cuisines.
2. In India they are used in pickles and in dal recipe.
3. An easy way to include long pepper in your diet is to use it in place of or in addition with black pepper to any savory dish.
Home remedies
1. For weight loss: Take ¼ tsp of long pepper powder with honey thrice a day on an empty stomach. Avoid solid food for about an hour after taking it.
2. To treat fever: Boil water with long pepper, reduce in half and drink twice a day.
3. To treat allergies (cough, cold, congestion): mix ginger powder, turmeric and long pepper powder in equal quantities. Add ½ tsp to warm water and drink twice a day.
4. To treat hemorrhoids: Add ¼ tsp long pepper powder, 1/8 tsp turmeric to ½ cup fresh yogurt. Mix well and eat twice a day.
5. Make a mix(“Trikatu”) with black pepper powder, long pepper powder and dry ginger powder in equal quantities. Eat this twice a day with warm water for all the great benefits including weight loss and congestion.
6. To treat sore throat and hoarseness: Add long pepper powder to honey and eat daily.