Oh No, Not BLACK PEPPER and Condiments too?

By Royce K. Bailey, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.C., M.A.A.C.

“Reason, instead of being the ruler, has come to be the slave of appetite.”*

“It is impossible for you to increase in spiritual strength while your appetite and passions are not under perfect control.”**

“In this fast age, the less exciting the food, the better. Condiments are injurious in their nature. Mustard, pepper, spices, pickles, and other things of a like character irritate the stomach and make the blood feverish and impure.” White, E., Ministry of Healing, 1905:325.

How Does What You Eat Relate To Our Sanity?

Disordered eating in adolescents has been linked to suicidal thoughts. Disordered eating is a term that is used by some people to describe a wide variety of irregularities in eating behavior. Eating junk food, skipping meals or eating at irregular times are included in this definition. Poor eating habits and poor choices in the type of food eaten correlate with our brain chemistry, and thus, our very sanity.

It Cannot Be Scientifically Correct?

I’ve grown up being told of the dangers of black pepper. We never even had it our home as a child and still don’t. I have seen people just pour the black pepper on their food, even before they have tasted it. They have lost their un-perverted ability to enjoy wholesome foods. In my research for this article, 99% of the information available tells of black pepper’s many benefits as a spice. Their defense is that it makes food more palatable, increases your appetite, stimulates the flow of digestive juices and has been used since the flood (thousands of years) without obvious injury, so it must be safe! So is it safe???

Black Pepper’s History

Ground black peppercorn, usually referred to simply as "pepper", can be found on nearly every dinner table around the world, often alongside table salt. Pepper makes up 39 percent of all spice imports in the U.S. Salt is the number one spice import at over 50%.

Along the spice trail to India, black pepper was like black gold. The ebony spice was so sought after in ancient times and in the Middle Ages that peppercorns could be substituted for currency and used to pay for everything from taxes to dowries. Black pepper’s ability to spice up bland foods and disguise lack of freshness made it indispensable in the time before refrigeration and before the global spice trade made exotic seasonings common.

Black pepper is a perennial woody vine. Pepper comes from several species of a vinous plant, the spice being the fruit, called peppercorns. Black pepper is the dried, unripe berry. The corns are wrinkled and spherical, about 5 mm (1/8 in) in diameter. White pepper consists of the seed only, with the fruit removed.. Green pepper is from the same fruit but is harvested before they mature.

The Negative Effects of Black Pepper

Mustard, black pepper, horse-radish, cayenne and capsicum contain irritating non-volatile oils. Several studies report that black pepper causes an increase in parietal secretion of hydrochloric acid and pepsin and a loss in potassium in the stomach. Black pepper causes the acid to be produced in excess. Black pepper can produce heart burn, acid (sour) stomach, peptic ulcers, etc. Also, there are reports of mucosal micro-bleeding of the whole gastro-intestinal tract (from mouth to exit) and gastric bleeding due to black pepper’s effects.

“Spices at first irritate the tender coating of the stomach, but finally destroy the natural sensitiveness of this delicate membrane. The blood becomes fevered, the animal propensities are aroused, while the moral and intellectual powers are weakened, and become servants to the baser passions.” White,E.,Counsels on Health,1890:114. How’d she know that?

Black pepper is eliminated from the diet of patients having abdominal surgery and ulcers because of its irritating effect upon the intestines, being replaced by what is referred to as a bland diet. It takes about a month to retrain your brain and taste buds. Yes, you can live without it.

The Dangers Of Piperine

The active ingredient in pepper is piperine.

1. Piperine is mildly carcinogenic by containing small amounts of safrole (also found in cinnamon and nutmeg). Safrole is banned as a food additive by the FDA. It is also banned for use in soaps and perfume by the FDA.

2. Piperine (containing safrole) is used as an effective insecticide.

3. Piperine might even have negative effects on sperm and interfere with reproductive processes.

4. Piperine has also been found to inhibit human CYP3A4. CYP3A4 is a member of the cytochrome P450 mixed-function oxidase system. CYP3A4 is found in the liver, intestine and brain. It plays an important role in the metabolism of toxins and certain drugs. Without it we will become toxic.

5. Piperine inhibits P-glycoprotein (human ABC-transporter/ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member-1). P-glycoprotein promotes the migration of dendritic nerve cells. So piperine can block the growth of nerve cells and thus slow or inhibit the body’s electrical system. P-glycoprotein protects the hematopoietic (blood making) stem cells from toxins. Piperine can block your stem cells from working properly.

Eat Plain Wholesome Foods

“It is impossible for those who give the reins to appetite to attain to Christian perfection. The moral sensibilities of your children cannot be easily aroused, unless you are careful in the selection of their food. Many a mother sets a table that is a snare to her family. Flesh-meats, butter, cheese, rich pastry, spiced foods, and condiments are freely partaken of by both old and young. These things do their work in deranging the stomach, exciting the nerves, and enfeebling the intellect. The blood-making organs cannot convert such things into good blood. The grease cooked in the food renders it difficult of digestion. The effect of cheese is deleterious. Fine-flour bread does not impart to the system the nourishment that is to be found in unbolted wheat bread. Its common use will not keep the system in the best condition.” White,E., Counsels on Health,1890:114.

* White, E., Counsels on Diet and Foods,1890:149.
** White, E., Counsels on Diet and Foods,1870:63

References:

Mahoney, D., “Disordered Eating Linked To Suicidal Thoughts,” Internal Medicine News, July 1, 2008:30.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppercorn_%28fruit%29

Clarke, Anne "Black Pepper -- Benefits and Possible Risks." Black Pepper -- Benefits and Possible Risks. 17 May. 2006.

EzineArticles.com. 5 Jul 2008 <http://ezinearticles.com/?Black-Pepper----Benefits-and-Possible-Risks&id=200086>.

Dean, Michael (2002-11-01). The Human ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter Superfamily. National Library of Medicine (US), NCBI.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piperine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safrole

Safrole Toxcity: http://potency.lbl.gov/pdfs/herp.pdf

For further study: White, E., The Ministry Of Healing, “Diet and Health”:295-310.