Black pepper essential oil comes from the fruit of the piper negrum vine, which grows in the tropics.
You’ve probably added black pepper to your meals before; it’s a popular spice after all. However, you might not know that this spice has many natural health benefits too. It offers mood-enhancing, circulation boosting, and digestive benefits. See below for how to use black pepper oil.
7 Benefits of Black Pepper Essential Oil
1. Soothes Pain
If you’re dealing with sore muscles or joint pain, this oil is your new best friend. Like many oils, it has warming, anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties. How do you use black pepper oil? Massage into your muscles after blending with a suitable carrier oil. The warming effect of the oil improves blood circulation . This can help reduce pain from tired or injured muscles. It can ease cramps, improve tendonitis and relieves symptoms of arthritis and rheumatism.
2. Eases Anxiety
Inhaling black pepper aromatherapy oil is known to reduce anxiety and stress. The peppery, musky aroma helps calm you down by soothing nerves and relaxing your muscles. This restores balance to your emotions and can improve your mood.
You can diffuse it in your home or add a few drops to a warm bath. Give it a try next time you need a bit of peace and calm.
For those of you trying to quit smoking, it can help reduce the associated cravings and anxiety. It can also decrease the difficulty breathing people experience when they give up.
3. Cleanses Your Body
The warming quality of this essential oil improves circulation. It works to help you both sweat and urinate. Your natural eliminatory system removes excess fats, salt, water, urea and uric acid from your body. Uric acid is associated with joint pain, arthritis and gout.
Rid your body of toxins, helping you feel healthier as you lose weight and lower your blood pressure. Your glucose tolerance and liver function may improve too.
4. Stimulates Appetite
Black pepper essential oil has a unique peppery smell, which stimulates your appetite. Inhaling this oil also activates the the insula orbitofrontal cortex. This part of your brain assists your swallowing movement. This is helpful for people who have had strokes or experience difficulty swallowing.
5. Fights Germs
Antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial properties make black pepper essential oil great for cleaning. Blend it with citrus oils in your favourite green cleaning recipe.
Inhaling Black Pepper oil is useful to prevent viral infections such as colds and flu. It also helps clear upper respiratory infections. Or apply it to a congested chest to help loosen mucus so that you can cough it up more easily.
6. Aids Digestion
For those of you with digestive issues, inhaling black pepper essential oil can help stimulate your digestive system. This means your body secretes digestive juices with the right enzymes to ensure effective digestion.
Massaging your stomach with a black pepper oil blend can improve indigestion, nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and excess gas. If you are suffering constipation or dealing with symptoms of IBS, black pepper essential oil can help with that too.
Simply put a drop or two in a carrier oil and rub on your stomach in a clockwise direction. Your tummy will thank you.
7. Improves Skin
Black pepper essential oil is power-packed with antioxidants. These protect your body from free radicals that cause aging and disease. It also helps to reverse free radical damage already done.
The warming quality of black pepper improves circulation. This boosts cell pre-generation and collagen production to decrease the appearance of fine lines. It also allows your skin to heal blemishes and bruises more quickly. This is one of the reasons we use it in our Organic Defence Balm.
Conclusion
You may already use black pepper as a spice, but the essential oil has some amazing health benefits too.
How do you use black pepper oil? You can inhale it directly from the bottle or diffuse at home. You can also use it on your skin. However essential oils can be strong irritants. Make sure you blend appropriately with a carrier oil before applying it.
