Pippali hasn’t quite got the popularity it deserves yet in the west, but that may be coming soon.
Here’s a pepper (yes, a pepper!) that unlike other hot spicy peppers actually has a rejuvenative effect, especially on the lungs.
What you need to know about you to use Pippali Ayurvedically
- Your constitution
- Your vikruti – current state of Vata, Pitta, Kapha
- You don’t have any contraindications: medications (increases absorption
What you need to know about Pippali to use it Ayurvedically:
- Qualities: light, penetrating, oily
- Taste: pungent (hot spicy)
- Virya: neutral effect on metabolism
- Vipak: effect changes to sweet after the herb is digested
- Dosha: reduces VK, increases P
- Dhatu: will reach all tissues except bone
A substance whose heat kindles agni, digests ama, and whose sweet rejuvenates the lungs and other tissues? Bring it on.
Its light, penetrating effects make Pippali great for indigestion, lack of hunger, spasms in colon, gases, bloating, poor absorption of nutrients, ama, candida and many other digestive complaints. So the digestive tract is one major area of action.
Another is the respiratory tract: infections, allergies, asthma, colds, coughs. Vasodilation helps with poor circulation and constricted bronchial pathways.
The rejuvenative effect extends to the nervous system affected by Vata-type anxiety & tension. This little power-packed pepper even protects the liver minimize damage as it does all its cleaning work and breaking down metabolic toxins. Interesting, too is its ability to reduce cholesterol and at the same time act as a heart tonic.
For many of us, we’ll come across Pippali in a super common triumvirate of herbs called Trikatu (ginger, black pepper, and pippali). And you know that trend going around now about taking Turmeric with black pepper? Many of us would do well to substitute Pippali. But we can also just add a couple pippali fruits while cooking a soup.
There is a classic way of taking pippali in deep-seated lung problems, which involves limiting your diet similar to during panchakarma to some specific things (rice cooked with a little milk) and increasing the number of pippali fruits taken with milk, as the anupan (substance to carry the herb into the desired location) is often milk for lung issues. Under supervision, the individual progressively increases the number of pippali fruits in milk each day for 10 days, and then likewise decreases through day 19. It’s a fantastic resource, so reach out if you have lung concerns.
