Once you conceive, advice pours in from all sides on what you should do and what you should be eating. Lowering your level of spice is something that is always advised even by doctors during this period as too much of spice may not be good for you or your baby during pregnancy. Within a few days, you become quite tired of the bland diet that is advised and begin craving for spicy food. Pepper is one thing you may be doubtful about and good news is that pepper is absolutely safe to include in your food to give you the much needed flavor and spice to your diet.

• Benefits Of Pepper During Pregnancy
• Risks Of Eating Pepper During Pregnancy

Benefits Of Pepper During Pregnancy

Black pepper is one of the oldest and commonly used spice all over the world. Apart from its role as an important cooking and flavoring ingredient, black pepper has many health benefits too. It has been an essential component in Indian medicine for over hundred years, taking care of a lot of health issues. Pepper is an excellent taste enhancer apart from being spicy too. Pepper is packed with a lot of nutrients and vitamins that a woman requires during this period. This includes vitamin K, manganese, iron and dietary fiber. Here are 8 amazing benefits of pepper which will make you want to include it in your pregnancy diet:

1. Good remedy for cough and cold: People all over the globe have been found to use pepper to provide relief from cold and cough that everyone catches once in a while. Being a victim of an allergic cold while being pregnant can be really irritating and tiring. So using pepper in hot soups or just mixing it with honey is ideal to treat cough
   and cold
2. Averts cancer: A woman’s body undergoes a lot of changes while being pregnant. Your system may undergo even oxidative damages that can turn cancerous in future for you. Pepper is rich in carotenoids which is actually an antioxidant. Pepper helps to safeguard your system by averting any kind of harm and in turn protects you against cancer
3. Aids digestion: Your digestive system goes for a toss once you conceive. Pepper is found to be excellent in helping to improve your digestion and has also been found to provide excellent relief from common pregnancy woes like cramps, flatulence and gas issues
4. Acts as an antidepressant: Another common woe that a lot of pregnant women experience and go through during their pregnancy phase is mood swings and even depression and tension. Pepper has been found to be quite effective in warding away these pregnancy blues
5. Rich in folate: Folate is an element that is extremely important during conception in order to avert neural tube anomalies in fetus growing within you. All types of pepper have been found to be loaded with folate that makes it good to include it in your diet
6. Helps to control blood pressure levels: It is absolutely imperative to ensure that blood pressure levels remain within desired limits during pregnancy phase in order to avoid unwanted complications. Pepper that contains adequate traces of potassium is ideal to keep blood pressure within controllable limits. Since pepper is rich in potassium , it is been proven to be effective in averting preeclampsia
7. Hikes up immunity levels: A woman’s immunity levels suffer a drop during her pregnancy phase, making her vulnerable to catching infections easily. Pepper is also rich in Vitamin C that is found to be excellent in providing the much required boost to your immunity levels and averting infections like cold and cough
8. Combats acne: Due to the hormonal changes that occur in a woman’s body, a lot of women have been found to suffer with the bane of acne during this phase. Pepper is excellent for the skin and is claimed to have ingredients that combat acne and prevent your skin from gaining blemishes

Thus, you can see for yourself all the wonderful benefits of including pepper in your diet during pregnancy. However, indulging in too much pepper may trigger unwanted adverse effects that may be harmful for both you and your unborn baby.

Risks Of Eating Pepper During Pregnancy

• Gastrointestinal issues: Having too much of pepper can trigger gastrointestinal issues that can cause great discomfort during your pregnancy period. It is advised to steer clear of pepper in case you have a very sensitive tummy
• Allergic reactions: Consuming pepper in excess has been found to bring about allergic reactions or allergy like symptoms in pregnant women. Suppose you happen to be a person who is extremely sensitive, the best option would be to avoid pepper throughout your pregnancy
• Pepper is regarded as an emmenagogue: Homeopaths consider pepper to be a part of the emmenagogue family. Emmenagogues are actually herbs that help to trigger the flow of blood into your uterus and pelvic area in order to induce periods. So it is better to avoid pepper during your pregnancy phase

So go ahead and begin including pepper into your pregnancy diet to reap all the wonderful benefits of pepper, which will be an excellent supplement during your pregnancy period. But do not forget to ask your doctor whether pepper can be safely included in your pregnancy diet as he is indeed the best person who knows what is best for you during this sensitive phase.