Black pepper and its extracts have been used in traditional medicines in a variety of cultures ranging from Ayurvedic medicine in India to traditional Chinese medicine. Some of the properties of black pepper might help boost the benefits of exercise such as weight training.
Digestion
Black pepper might aid digestive tract function, stimulate digestive enzymes and speed up the movement of food through the digestive tract, according to a January 2010 report by Keith Singletary, professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, in the journal Food Today. An optimally functioning digestive system helps ensure you absorb more nutrients from your food. This provides the energy needed to power your weight training workouts and nutrients essential to encourage growth of lean muscle tissue.
Metabolism
Black pepper contains piperine. Singletary says black pepper and piperine have been shown to influence energy use in rats. Black pepper might have similar metabolism-boosting effects in humans. Given that lean muscle tissue gained from weight-training helps increase your metabolism, including black pepper in your diet might enhance the metabolism-boosting effect of weight-training and help you lose weight. However, no definitive clinical studies have confirmed that.
Free Radicals
Physical exercise such as weight-training increases the production of free radicals in the body. Free radicals cause cellular damage and increase the likelihood of disease. Free radicals also contribute to muscle inflammation and damage after strenuous exercise, according to a study in the March 1996 issue of Sports Medicine. Black pepper has a significant amount of antioxidant chemicals. Include black pepper and other antioxidants such as vitamins C and E in your diet to protect against muscle inflammation and weight-training-induced free radicals.
Health Benefits
Black pepper is a natural antibiotic and contains the minerals magnesium, chromium, calcium, iron and manganese together with vitamins C and K. According to the website Doctors Health Press, black pepper combats intestinal disease caused by bacteria and is used in herbal medicine to treat stomach ailments, anemia, impotence and heart disease.
