Turmeric, the golden spice, partly because of the bright yellow colour and partly because of the great healing properties that are packed into it. Haldi, as it is called in Hindi, has been used extensively in both, the Indian cuisine as well as the ancient medicines prescribed by Ayurveda.Believed to play a role in controlling a plethora of health conditions, including arthritis, indigestion, and irritable bowel syndrome, but there is one magic ingredient that will help you extract the maximum benefit out of turmeric- the black pepper. Let us see why.
Turmeric is so healthy to consume because of an active compound in it called curcumin. It helps in reducing inflammation and the markers of oxidative stress caused by things like industrial pollution. The only problem here is that to squeeze out all the health benefits of turmeric, we need to consume a huge amount of the spice, which becomes extremely difficult. This is where we can pair turmeric up with black pepper and reap the benefits of both these powerful spices.
How does pepper help?
Pepper has an active compound called piperine. This helps in absorbing the curcumin found in turmeric and helps the body extract more benefits from it. Piperine, which in itself is an anti-oxidant, increases the good bacteria in your guts. Our liver gets rid of foreign substances by making them water-soluble for easy excretion. But piperine can stop this process and the curcumin from the turmeric is not excreted. This process increases the bioavailability of curcumin. Hence, the combination of turmeric and pepper is a powerful one.
What are the health benefits?
Both pepper and turmeric are rich in anti-inflammatory properties. When paired up, the ability of the spices to do so increases multifold. Infact, the mixture of these spices has the ability to match some anti-inflammatory drugs without having any negative side-effects like the latter. The combination is also known to reduce the chances of Arthritis. Besides doing all of that, both the spices improve gut health too. They help in proper digestion of food.
How to have pepper and turmeric together?
The key to extracting maximum benefits out of this magical mixture is proportion. Both of these spices are very strong in nature and should always be consumed in small quantities. Even while putting them in food or combining them with other ingredients, be mindful of the quantity. Let us look at a Kadha that you can easily prepare using pepper and turmeric.
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon freshly grounded turmeric
- ½ teaspoon freshly grounded black pepper
- 2 glasses of water
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 10-12 tulsi leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
Method
1. Pour the water in a pan and bring it to boil.
2. Crush the tulsi leaves and add it to the water.
3. Add the cinnamon, pepper and turmeric to the boiling water.
4. Add jaggery after 5 minutes.
5. Strain the kadha and drink it hot.
This kadha or any other food item prepared by combining pepper and turmeric is good for health. But remember to consume it in a small quantity.