The Good
Bioperine (piperine) aids the absorption of nutrients, and is often
found in
supplements that are difficult to absorb like Curcumin or Chrysin. For
similar reasons, it is added to some multivitamins (Life Force and NSI
multis, among others). Some research also shows piperine to have
antioxidant benefits.*
The Not-So Good
Piperine, which is derived from black pepper, achieves at least part of
this absorption increase by inhibiting enzymes in the liver that break
down toxins. As a result, it it believed (and at least somewhat
supported by research) that piperine intake partially disables your
body's ability to process toxins for some time (hours?) after ingestion.
What to do?
It is a difficult call. One the one hand, we live in a toxic world, and
taking something for health that might in fact weaken our ability to
neutralize toxins seems like a bad idea. On the other hand, people have
been eating black pepper for centuries without any obvious negative
impact. A good helping of fresh black pepper contains a significant
dose of piperine.
My personal choice is to limit supplements that have more than a nominal dose of piperine, and to be careful not to take piperine-containing supplements throughout the day (such that I'd risk having piperine in my body for many hours instead of a few). So as an example, I often take Life Force, which contains 3 mg of piperine in the daily dose, and a coenzyme Q-10 that has 5 mg, but avoid curcumin supplements that have 5 mg on those days (and take a piperine-free curcumin). On days where I skip the other piperine sources, I take the curcumin with piperine. Other informed people may accept the potential risks of larger pipeine doses, presuming that the proven benefits with poor-absorption nutrients outweigh the piperine/bioperine risks. (Or choose a piperine-free Q-10, multi, etc. Some Q-10 formulas are ubiqiunol, which absorbs well without piperine, some others use absorption aids like d-limonene.)
Resources This topic is flogged thoroughly on Immortaily Institute's forum, and those interested in all the details on this debate and the related research should take a look there (search for Bioperine)
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