My brain is on vacation this week. Check in next week for “The Price of Pet Love!”
Brain on Vacation
Author: vlaw759
GAMES AND THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY THEM
This blog is intended to make you think. What are your expectations about people who do these various things?
Card Games
I’ll start with three well-known card games.
Euchre
Euchre is played in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Upstate New York, and the Midwestern United States. It is often associated with blue-collar culture, particularly in the Midwestern United States, where it has long been popular among families and friend groups. Its roots are in working-class communities and its role in bringing people together for social interaction contribute to this perception.
I found no data on the ratio of male to female players, so assume it is roughly equal, given that it is often a family or couples game.
Bridge
Bridge players are often stereotyped. Common stereotypes include: a tendency towards higher education, and the game attracting a relatively high proportion of atypical individuals. (Bridgebase.com, macewan.ca) Bridge was initially a game for the upper class, but later gained popularity among other social classes.
A common stereotype is that bridge is an old person’s game. In 2019, the World Bridge Federation used Survey Monkey to gather data about American bridge players. They limited the survey to people 45+ with some college education because, “We are confident that the vast majority of bridge players fall into this category…” About 16M (out of 75M)—i.e., about 20%—reported that they know how to play bridge. 10M+ have not played in a long time, 3M+ play a few times a year, 2M+ play regularly (monthly/weekly/weekly+).
While roughly equal proportions of men and women play bridge, men tend to outperform women at the elite level. (Bridging brains: exploring neurosexism and gendered stereotypes… )
Poker
Poker is a man’s game—at least at the professional level. According to recent statistics, around 95% of professional poker players are men. However, among online poker players, research shows that nearly a third of new player buy-ins are female players. This makes one ask why male players still dominate traditional tournaments. One explanation posited is that because it’s male dominated, there’s likely an intimidation factor in in-person play.
Many historical factors have shaped modern poker: cultural expectations and gender norms, targeted advertising, and marketing campaigns. There’s nothing masculine or feminine about the game itself. Medium and Personality-Psychology have published some poker stereotypes based on players’ tendencies:
- NITs (tight players)
- TAGs (tight-aggressive players)
- LAGs (loose-aggressive players)
- Loose passive players
- Calling machines
- Maniacs
Other Table-Top Games
Of course, cards aren’t the only games people play around the table.
SCRABBLE
Most competitive SCRABBLE players are women. Indeed, when regular people are asked about whether they would expect more male or female SCRABBLE champions, the intuition seems to be that women should be more common. As it turns out, within the highest-performing competitive SCRABBLE divisions, 86% of the players are male, while only 31% of the players in the lowest-performing divisions are. In fact all 10 of the last world champions have been male. Psychology Today has a lengthy article trying to determine why this might be.
FYI: Nigel Richards is the widely acknowledged GOAT for SCRABBLE. Originally from New Zealand and now based in Malaysia, he has won the World Scrabble Championship five times. No other player has won more than once. His national-level titles include five in North America, twelve in Singapore, fifteen in Thailand, and many others around the world.
Monopoly
As of 2015, the game had sold approximately 275 million copies worldwide. Clearly, lots of people play Monopoly, but I found virtually no information about them. Lots of information about its history, racism, whether it’s detrimental to family relationships, but otherwise…
One tidbit: Monopoly game token choice can reveal aspects of a player’s personality. For example, players who choose the car are often male and passionate, while those who choose the hat may be introverted but strategic in the game.
Mah Jongg
Mah Jongg – a Chinese tile game of skill, strategy, and calculation similar to rummy—was developed in the 19th century in China. It has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. Rules vary by location. In China and Japan in particular, it is a gambling game, often played by men in Mah Jongg parlors.
Travelers first brought mahjong to the United States in the early 1920s. It was an instant hit among white Americans. People in the U.S. soon came to think of it as a game for women.
At least the perception of mahjong as a women’s game is founded in reality: American mahjong players are at least 95% female. Male players likely comprise less than 5%.
In my opinion, there are two bits of history that contribute to this.
The first was the Wright-Patterson approach, started by spouses of Air Force officers stationed at Wright Field in Ohio. The Wright Patterson method was intended to regularize rules so that when military men were transferred, their wives wouldn’t have to learn new rules for every place.
In 1937 a small group of Jewish women in New York City standardized the rules for the game. Generally referred to as American Mahjong, today it is the most common version played in the U.S., and has spread worldwide. In the U.S., one stereotype is that mahjong players are often older Jewish women.
Games of Sport
Some games are more physical than cards and table-tops.
Golf
Golf is subject to various stereotypes. For example, that golf is an elite sport, a game of cliques, or a sport for older people. Other stereotypes suggest that golf is expensive, complicated, or only enjoyable in the summer. (Golfshake.com).
Zippia statistics has more details:
- Average golfer age: 36
- Male – 72%; Female – 28%
- Male Income $50,103; Female Income $47,840
- White – 72.8%; Black Or African American – 8.9%
Since the pandemic, more than 800,000 women have taken up golf. According to the National Golf Foundation, 3.7 million juniors played golf on a course in 2024, more than in any year since 2006. Thirty five percent of these were girls. This young segment is more diverse than the overall golf population and has seen a 48% increase since 2019, the largest gains of any age group.
The NGF also reports that 41% of off-course golfers are women. (Off-course golfers participate in golf-related activities that occur outside of a traditional golf course. This includes activities like driving ranges, golf simulators, mini-golf, and entertainment venues such as Topgolf. (LightSpeedHQ, NGF ))
Basketball
Basketball is the opposite of golf on many dimensions. Stereotypes include the assumption that players are tall, and that the sport is mainly for men. Some also believe that basketball is an African American-dominated sport. (gunnoracle.com) Additionally, the ‘jock’ stereotype portrays athletes as unintelligent, but physically well-endowed.
Basketball is perhaps the sport most available for pick-up games. It requires minimal equipment, equipment is inexpensive, and hoops are everywhere from driveways to public parks.
Expensive Games
Many sports require substantial monetary investments for the equipment, training, and space to practice. Utopia.org broke down the costs of the most expensive sports today.
Formula One Racing
The cars alone can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Rather than competing individually, racers usually compete under the sponsorship of corporations. Over $1000 is typically spent on fuel for each car per race.
Racing is also environmentally expensive. F1 racing generates 256,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, with 72.7% of those emissions resulting from transporting equipment and personnel.
Sailing
Sailing is one of the most expensive sports globally. It requires a lot of equipment such as life jackets, grippy shoes, and weatherproof sunglasses—not to mention the cost of the boat itself. A trailer is necessary to transport it to the water, unless you rent a slip at a marina or live on water and have your own dock, etc. Even smaller sailing boats, such as the single-person Laser, have a starting price of around $2000 for a used model. For many, there are additional sailing club membership fees and lessons.
Bobsledding
Bobsleds are expensive, starting at around $30,000, so teams often rely on corporate sponsorship to pay for the sled, protective gear, training, and track rental. Bobsledding also carries significant risks; “sled head,” or concussion in bobsledders, affects 13-18% of participants, making it one of the most dangerous Olympic sports.
Tennis
At first glance, tennis requires only a racket, ball, net, and a partner. However, tennis ranks among the most expensive sports, primarily due to the fees associated with renting tennis courts, which can range from $50 to $100 per hour. Additional expenses may include competition entry fees, lessons, and specialized shoes and clothing.
Pentathlon
The pentathlon, which includes running, swimming, horseback riding, shooting, and fencing, is among the most expensive sports primarily due to the extensive equipment requirements. There may be additional costs for lessons or classes in each discipline.
Equestrian Games
Polo, known as an elite sport (participants include members of the British Royal Family), is quite expensive. Any sport involving horses requires substantial funds, but playing polo also involves club and tournament fees on top of the costs of training and keeping horses. Nevertheless, equestrian events— show jumping, dressage and eventing—are all expensive. Owning a horse is expensive in and of itself, including costs for feed, shelter, winter care, shoeing, and veterinary bills. If you don’t own a horse, you can expect “rent” payments as well as covering many of the expenses listed above.
Additionally, equestrian competitions involve the costs of equipment for both the horse and rider, transportation (such as a horsebox), and riding lessons. Sports involving horses are universally expensive.
Swimming
Swimming is a favorite sport for many, and for most people it isn’t particularly expensive. But competitive swimming can be costly. Large pool rental costs per week add up, in addition to training, gym sessions, specialized diet, and even hair removal to maintain the sleekest body.
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey expenses include the cost of gear and ice rink rentals, which can be around $250 per hour. In addition, ice hockey players often suffer injuries, leading to substantial healthcare expenses. Altogether, the annual costs of playing ice hockey run in the thousands.
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is more expensive than it looks at first glance. Competitive gymnasts often start training as very young children, taking regular classes for years. Those pursuing a professional career may also invest in private coaching, space in a dedicated gym, and travel to train and compete. Specialized equipment, such as vaults, balance beams, and climbing ropes, can quickly add up to serious costs.
Please note: Utopia.org includes more details and suggests less expensive alternatives for these expensive sports.
Not surprisingly, how people spend time, and the places they frequent, imply a lot about personality, lifestyle, and values. Sport are no exception. Knowing a person’s sport and game choices—both the activity and the level of involvement—often sets others up to make inferences about socio-economic standing, level of education, and more, as well as traits like openness and extraversion, competitiveness, work ethic, organization, and motivation.
Bottom Line: Sports and other games definitely play a role in how people are perceived. What do your hobbies say about you?
The Importance of Writing
Humans have been telling stories for millennia, and the invention of the written word has allowed us to preserve and share our stories. The importance of writing, any kind of writing, is difficult to overstate.
Lesser Importance of Writing for Money
According to an article by Alison Flood of The Guardian, a 2014 survey revealed that 54% of “traditionally-published” authors and nearly 80% of self-published authors earn less than $1,000 a year. In this same survey, only a minority of respondents listed making money as “extremely important”—around 20% of self-published writers and 25% of traditionally-published authors. Overall, Flood concluded, “Most authors write because they want to share something with the world or gain recognition of some sort.” Clearly, most writers aren’t in it to put food on the table.
If you aren’t writing to put food on the table, you’re writing to feed your soul. And if you are writing to put food on the table, you are likely on a starvation diet!
Importance of Writing for Health
So why write? Because it’s good for you! A regular writing practice can benefit every aspect of your life. Many people have researched the importance of writing. I’ve combined below some of the findings discussed by Baihley Grandison (“11 Reasons Writing is Good for Your Health”, Writers Digest), Amanda L. Chan (“6 Unexpected Ways Writing Can Transform Your Health“, Huffington Post), and Jordan Rosenfeld (“Your Writing Practice is Calling | Why Do You Write?“, Medium).
Physical
- Increase memory capacity
- Healthier immune system
- Reduce blood pressure
- Improve lung function
- Boost athletic performance
- Writing what you’re thankful for could help you sleep better
- Writing entertains you and others, and having fun is an important part of good health
- It could help cancer patients think about their disease
My own experience with breast cancer and its treatment gave rise to three publications: a magical realism piece, “Beast and the Beauty”; a memoir titled “Hindsight” about altering my view of my mother’s invalidism; and a newspaper essay titled “Repair or Redecorate After Breast Cancer.”
Social
- Learn to communicate better
- Boost job prospects
- Writing connects you with others through blogging, writing groups, live readings, and self-publishing outlets like Scribd and Smashwords
- Through writing, we preserve stories and memories that may otherwise be lost
Mental
- Expressing emotions through words may speed healing
- It can form a fundamental part of your gratitude practice
- Creativity has been proven to have positive effects on health, self-esteem, and vitality
- Writing is good for your brain, creating a state similar to meditation
- Writing hones your powers of observation, giving you a fuller experience of life
- Writing hones your powers of concentration and attention, which is more fractured than ever thanks to technology and TV
- Writing strengthens your imagination, and imagination is key to feeling hope and joy
Importance of Writing in My Life
From college until I left paid employment thirty years later—excepting the occasional lines of private poetry—I wrote only academic articles and research reports. When no longer employed, with no title and no built-in social network, I found myself lost. And depressed.
That’s when I started writing Dark Harbor. Mysteries had been my favorite escapist reading, so of course I thought I could write one! I quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing and enrolled in a writing class at the VMFA Studio School. And here I am, four books and more than seventy short stories later, still writing.
It keeps my brain sharp. I learn new things when researching stories—everything from the effects of ketamine on humans to the price of gasoline in 1930 to the characteristics of Buff Orpington hens. I understand myself better in relation to my family. I meet interesting people. (I’ve never met a boring writer!) My journal helps me keep track of personal events, thoughts, and trivia. Publishing—even without much financial reward—is good for my self-esteem. And now that I am a writer, I no longer define myself by what I used to be—as in, “I’m a retired academic.”
Bottom Line: Write for your health, for your community, for your sanity, for your soul. Whatever the reason, write!
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
I venture to assert, with absolutely no evidence necessary, that revenge is older than the Old Testament! It’s both ancient and contemporary. (Think Homer, Hamlet, and Pres. Trump’s campaign slogan, “I am your revenge.”)
Brian Knutson published research in Science in 2004, showing that when people are wronged in a laboratory game and then given a chance to retaliate, the part of the brain activated is an area known to process rewards. (In even earlier work, researchers found that this part of the brain was active during cocaine and nicotine use). Just thinking about revenge is pleasurable!
“In the past few years, psychological scientists have discovered many ways in which the practice of revenge fails to fulfill its sweet expectations. Behavioral scientists have observed that instead of quenching hostility, revenge can prolong the unpleasantness of the original offense and that merely bringing harm upon an offender is not enough to satisfy a person’s vengeful spirit. They have also found that instead of delivering justice, revenge often creates only a cycle of retaliation…”
Eric Jaffe, The Complicated Psychology of Revenge
Association for Psychological Science
Why We Seek Revenge
A belief in justice is the primary driver when seeking revenge, according to Fade Eadeh, an assistant professor of psychology at Seattle University. If the world was just and fair, bad things would happen to bad people and good things to good people. As a “good person,” you may feel compelled to even the score with a “bad person” to restore justice. However, such retaliation seldom brings balance or justice.
Carlsmith et al. in a 2008 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, reported that although people believe revenge will make them feel better and provide closure, in fact those who delivered punishment continued to think about what they had done and felt worse than those who had no opportunity to avenge a wrong. Guilt, shame, and embarrassment may tamp down any pleasure derived from vengeance,
More recently, Allie Volpe (Vox, 2024) observed that even chimpanzees and elephants have shown vengeful tendencies. Revenge, to deter offenders (and would-be offenders) from future harmful behavior is a response to wrongdoing that anthropologists have observed in practically every culture.
For revenge to have the best chance of eliciting a positive outcome, the punished party needs to know what she/he/they did that harmed another. “When [revenge] goes right, it triggers remorse and guilt, and a need for the other person to fix things,” asserts Stephen Yoshimura , a professor of communication studies at the University of Montana. “But a lot of times, because things don’t get explained or there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what exactly is the situation … they just respond with counter-retaliation. That’s where things start to get out of hand.”
A Dish Best Not Served At All
As a supervisor, parent, and spouse, I’ve long been an advocate of simply telling a person, “When you do X, I feel Y.” Among others, Dr. David Chester, Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, also suggests finding non-harmful ways to communicate how someone mistreated you.
“While interpersonal revenge can be functional, in contemporary societies it can trigger a cycle of potentially violent (not to mention potentially illegal) acts. But suppressing thoughts of revenge may cause them to rebound. So what to do? At the risk of perpetuating an overwrought cliche, the best revenge, experts say, is a life well-lived.” (Volpe)
The June 5 edition of The Wall Street Journal, has an excellent review of this topic, written by James Kimmel, Jr., a lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. The title of his article pretty much says it all: “This Is Your Brain on Revenge: The neuroscience of vengeance shows that it can be as addictive as drugs and forgiveness works like detox.” He concludes that “Neuroscience supports the ancient forgiveness teachings of Jesus and the Buddha,” and maintains that we can heal an entire nation addicted to revenge by following modern science and ancient teachings about forgiveness. “We need to Make America Forgiving Again.” You can read all about it in his new book The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World’s Deadliest Addiction—and How to Overcome It.
Bottom Line: The evolutionary nature of revenge may make it “human nature,” but in this instance, what’s natural is bad for you.
IMPORTANCE OF STONES
You may recall that I’m fond of stones. I wrote a whole blog about Shiva Lingam, the sacred stone of India.
But think of the many important stones worldwide, for example:
- Blarney Stone in Ireland: kiss it for the Gift of Gab and good luck
- Stonehenge in England: stone circle of mysterious origins, potentially a celestial observatory
- Rosetta Stone, found in Egypt: key to translating Egyptian hieroglyphics
- Uluṟu (Ayers) Rock in Australia: sacred to the Aṉangu people
- Black Stone of Mecca: Muslim object of veneration, part of the Kaʿbah within the Great Mosque
Stones for Power and Beauty
If visiting stones is good for you, why not just wear them? Many people wear precious and semiprecious stones for more than just eye appeal.
Whenever I am in Corolla, NC, I always visit The Mystic Jewel. (They also have a store in Duck and sell online.) Each purchase has been accompanied by a card. Based on these cards and information in a stone “bible” by Simmons and Ahsian, I venture to assert that there are no bad stones!
Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian have written The Book of Stones: Who They Are & What They Teach, an interesting guide to crystals, minerals, gemstones, and the many ways people use them.
For example, one of my favorites (because it coordinates with my go-to black pants or jeans) is black onyx. (Fyi, onyx can be red, green, or several other colors.)
According to Ahsian, “Black Onyx teaches the appropriate use of power and the focusing of energy into positive force. It is excellent for those who are working to develop their telekinetic abilities.” And physically, “Black Onyx can be used to help stimulate the connection between the feet and the first chakra. This can be helpful for those suffering from weak legs, or who have difficulty grounding or eliminating bodily waste or excess energy.”
You can research virtually any stone for its purported spiritual, emotional, and physical qualities, and any astrological connections as well.
Chakras
Millions of people worldwide wear chakra jewelry for such reasons. Chakra means wheel in Sanskrit. The basic belief is that the body has seven main energy centers that look like spinning wheels or Chakras. They permit energy to flow from one part of the body to another. When these Chakras are aligned and functioning properly, we feel a sense of balance on all levels—physical, emotional, and spiritual. Gemstones are often used to strengthen and balance the Chakras.
The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. Beliefs differ between the Indian religions: Buddhist texts mention four or five chakras, while Hindu sources often have six or seven. The modern “Western chakra system” arose from multiple sources, starting in the 1880s.
Chakra Stones
Crown
- 7th chakra
- Center of wisdom and knowledge
- White stones (quartz, selenite, or moonstone)
Brow or Third Eye
- 6th chakra
- Center of insight and intuitive powers
- Purple stones (quartz, amethyst)
Throat
- 5th chakra
- Center for communication and creative expression
- Blue stones (turquoise, sodalite, or lapis)
Heart
- 4th chakra
- Energize love, compassion, and forgiveness
- Pink or green stones (rose quartz, aventurine)
Solar Plexus
- 3rd chakra
- Center of energy and emotion
- Yellow stones (citrine, tiger eye, calcite)
Spleen
- 2nd chakra
- Center of creativity and social interaction
- Orange stones (carnelian and amber)
Root or Base
- 1st chakra
- Center of safety, stability, and grounding
- Red or black stones (garnet, hematite, black tourmaline)
All sorts of jewelry—rings, bracelets, pendant, earrings—featuring stones for all seven chakras, in order, is readily available. If you search for chakra jewelry, for example on eBay or Etsy, the seven-gem option will come up as a “best match” although jewelry designs featuring a single stone are touted as well.
Bottom Line: Wear, touch, seek out, and treasure stones, whether for esthetic, fashion, or other reasons. Even if they don’t actually help, they won’t hurt!
SWEET: WHEN TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING IS A BAD THING
Sugar here,
Sugar there,
Sugar in your pasta sauce
Sugar from your pear.
Sugar on your cereal
And in your bakery treat.
The more sweetness you enjoy
The more you want to eat!
That’s a fact—and it’s bad news. The American Heart Association recommends limits on the amount of sugar you consume every day:
- 25 grams (6 teaspoons) for women
- 36 grams per day (9 teaspoons) for men
According to Anna Taylor, RD, LD, “The average American eats about 68 grams [~16.3 teaspoons] of sugar per day. That can add up to as much as 28 pounds of body fat per year.”
Too Sweet
But it’s even worse than getting fat. According to the AARP Bulletin, May/June 2025, eating a lot of sugar causes your body to age at seven times its natural rate. It ages you in several ways:
- Raising dementia risk by increasing inflammation and weakening the blood-brain barrier.
- Making your belly bigger, which indicates that your liver is storing fat, which can lead to higher cholesterol, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
- Storing fat in the liver can also lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Making it less likely you’ll eat enough healthful foods.
- Increases risk of diabetes.
- Worsens menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes.
- Promotes tooth loss by damaging tooth enamel and creating gum inflammation.
Hidden Sugars
The Cleveland Clinic and the American Heart Association strongly support limiting table sugar. It’s high in calories and offers no nutritional benefit. Besides which, it’s hiding in some favorite foods:
- Condiments such as ketchup and salad dressings
- Pasta and barbecue sauces
- Flavored yogurt, especially low-fat ones
- Granola, instant oatmeal, and other breakfast cereals
- Nut butters, both peanut butter and others
- Drinks, which can contain more than three tablespoons of added sugar per serving
Check your food labels for hidden ingredients. Added sugars now must be specifically listed. Especially look for fructose, glucose, and sucrose.
The good news is that whiskey has no added sugar! The bad news is that it’s still empty calories and is otherwise hazardous to your health.
Naturally Sweet
The best way to sweeten food and drinks is with fresh or frozen fruit, which provide nutritional benefits such as fiber, vitamins, potassium, and antioxidants.
So, what about natural sugars? Things like raw honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, and raw sugar.
The good news is that some natural sweeteners provide a few more nutrients than table sugar. Raw honey and pure maple syrup both help feed gut flora, keeping your digestion on track.
Agave nectar, although natural, provides fewer nutrients than raw honey or pure maple syrup. It contains as many carbs and calories as table sugar. However, it tastes very sweet and so you might use less.
The bad news? They’re all still forms of sugar, high in calories. All natural sugar should be counted toward your daily sugar intake.
(Beware: Honey shouldn’t be given to infants under the age of 1 because of possible botulism bacteria spores.)
Artificially Sweet
So, just switch to artificial sweeteners? Problem solved? NO! Common artificial sweeteners, including saccharin (Sweet n’ Low®), aspartame (Equal®), and sucralose (Splenda®), come with concerns of their own.
According to The Cleveland Clinic, “Just as with sugar, artificial sweeteners may cause you to crave more sweet and sugary foods. Artificial sweeteners often include sugar alcohols. One sugar alcohol commonly used in artificial sweeteners, erythritol, has been linked to increased risk for heart attack and stroke.”
Some researchers suggest artificial sweeteners may be linked to a range of other health conditions , including having obesity, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and more. However, those outcomes haven’t been validated across the board. Research is still ongoing.
Bottom Line: Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Sugar is sweet
But BAD for you!
HAIRY ISSUES
Fun fact: About 95% of your total skin area is covered in hair. Who knew you were so, well, hairy?! (wella.com)
But when speaking of someone’s “hair” the usual meaning is hair growing from the scalp, although less frequently facial, pubic, and other body hair. This blog will focus on head hair.
Discrimination in Hair Care
Hair care routines differ according to an individual’s culture and the physical characteristics of one’s hair. In the United States, my search for “ethnic hairstyles” turned up only Black hairstyles. Here are a few examples:
- Classic cornrows
- Braid variations: Bob, block variations, boho, gypsy, etc.
- Locs and faux locs variations
- Twists: two-strand, passion, twist outs, etc.
- Shaved hairstyles
- Afro puffs with or without braids
- Bantu knot variations
Shamefully (in my opinion) these and many other distinctive hairstyles have been forbidden in schools and work settings—historically, but still today. Even when not dealing with outright bans, people wearing these hairstyles often still face discrimination at work, when seeking medical care, at school, while shopping, even while seeking housing.
Although Black people, especially women, are aware of hair styles as part of their self-concepts, I venture to suggest that many women (and some men) are deeply committed to their hair as an expression of their unique identities.
Hairy Length
One of the most obvious and most noticeable hair variations is length.
Fun fact: According to Wella, when you add up how much each hair on your head grows over a year’s time, you get 10 miles worth of hair!
Hair can be any length, of course. For the average person, growing waist-length hair would take about 7 years, 3 years to grow to your shoulders.
As of 2024, the Guiness record for hair length is 8 ft. 5.3 in. (257.33 cm) in length, officially the longest hair on a living person (female). The record holder is Aliia Nasyrova of Ukraine.
Shaved – hair that is completely shaved down to the scalp
Buzz – hair that is extremely short and hardly there
Cropped – hair that is a little longer than a buzz
Short back and sides – hair that is longer than a crop, but does not yet hit the ears, with the top being left longer
Ear-length – hair reaching one’s ears
Bob – reaching to one’s chin
Shoulder-length – brushing the tops of one’s shoulders
Princess-length – reaching between the shoulder blades and the tailbone, depending on the speaker
In short, anything goes for hair cuts, but by and large, it seems to me that the longer the hair, the more time, effort, and possibly money go into taking care of it.
A 2024 CNN report found the average cost of a women’s haircut ranging between $45 and $75 across the country, while men’s toggled between $25 and $50. Besides sexism, what might account for this?
Enhancing Nature’s Hairy Bounty
If you are naturally less hairy or differently hairy than you would like, fear not! There are a variety of ways you can change the appearance of the hair on your head.
- Wigs
- Hair pieces
- Extensions
- Dyes
- Texture changes (straightening or curling)
- Transplants
- Removal
Changing Color
Fun fact: According to Wella, in 1950, about 7% of American women dyed their hair. Today, 60% of American women dye their hair.
Hair coloring, technically, can be either adding pigment to or removing pigment from the hair shaft, commonly referred to as coloring or bleaching, respectively.
—Among the best-known products for men are Just For Men shampoos and comb in color to cover gray hair or beard.
—Temporary hair tints simply coat the shaft with pigments that later wash off.
—Most permanent color changes require that the hair shaft be opened so the color change can take place within. This process can leave hair dry, weak, prone to breakage, or coarse, or cause an accelerated loss of pigment. Generally, the lighter the chosen color from one’s initial hair color, the more damaging the process may be.
—Other options for applying color to hair besides chemical dyes include the use of such herbs as henna and indigo, or choosing ammonia-free solutions.
There is growing demand for natural and non-toxic hair dyes. Various natural pigments, like melanin in animals and curcumin in plants, are used for coloring and dyeing. These alternatives to conventional dyes are bio-friendly and less irritating. Despite the proposed benefits of these dyes, such as antistatic, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties, their complex pigmentation mechanisms remain largely unexplored.
Curling and Straightening
You can temporarily change the texture of your hair with curling irons, foam rollers, blow dryers, flat irons, hot combs, and many other implements of heat and pressure. However, time and moisture will return hair to its natural state.
Perms (curling) and relaxing (straightening) using relaxer or thermal reconditioning involve chemical alteration of the internal structure of the hair in order to affect its curliness or straightness. Hair that has been subjected to the use of a permanent is weaker due to the application of chemicals and should be treated gently and with greater care than hair that isn’t chemically altered.
Research shows that hair becomes drier with age. This makes it less able to take and maintain a change in shape.
Hair Transplants
Those who are not hairy enough for their personal tastes have a variety of options, some more permanent than others.
One can purchase clip-in hair extensions for a quick boost of hirsute-ness. They need to be taken out before sleeping, washing, or restyling.
For a longer solution, one can visit a hairdresser to have someone else’s hair taped, glued, or sewn onto one’s own tresses. These hair extensions can last from a few weeks to several months, depending on type and care.
For a more permanent change, one might turn to a surgical hair transplant. In this procedure, a doctor surgically moves bits of skin or individual follicles from a hairy area of the head (typically the back or sides) to a less hairy area of the head (typically the top or front). After a few weeks of healing, the newly located hair follicles should behave like any other follicles, giving the patient the appearance of a full head of hair.
Hair Removal
Alternatively, one may feel too hairy. In that case, a variety of methods can help remove unwanted hair.
Hair may be shaved, plucked, or otherwise removed with treatments such as waxing, sugaring, or threading.
Laser hair removal and electrolysis are also available, though these are provided (in the US) by licensed professionals in medical offices or specialty spas.
Hair Loss
Alopecia is the blanket term for a range of conditions that cause hair to fall out in up to half of all Americans. It may be temporary or permanent and can have a range of causes, including autoimmune disorder, genetics, and medical treatments.
For it to be apparent that you’re balding, you would have to lose 50% of your hair, according to dermatologists. Most of the factual information in this section comes from The Cleveland Clinic.
On average, you can expect to lose between 50 and 150 hairs daily. On the other hand, you have around 100,000 (or more) hair follicles on your head. So, routine hair shedding is just a drop in the bucket. (This will also depend on the length and thickness of your hair. For example, you’ll appear to shed less if you have shorter or thinner hair.)
Things like stress, heated styling and other health conditions or treatments may cause you to lose more hair than normal. Everyone is aware that chemotherapy often leads to hair loss, but other medications, such as some antidepressants or anticoagulants (blood thinners), might have a side effect of hair loss.
Men vs. Women
“Studies have shown that, in general, men are more likely to experience hair loss than women. On the other hand, women are more likely to experience higher levels of shedding during pregnancy and menopause. Over half of all women will experience noticeable hair loss over time.”
In addition, a study in 2017 showed that women tend to shed more hair due to styling practices. Anyone who uses heavy styling or tight hairstyles can experience increased shedding, which can lead to permanent hair loss if it becomes chronic (called traction alopecia).
Not getting enough protein, iron or certain vitamins, like biotin and B12, and micronutrients can lead to increased hair loss. Crash dieting can cause temporary hair loss.
Relatively few men are totally bald –i.e., have no hair at all on their heads. Male pattern baldness is common worldwide. However, rates vary by country; in the U.S., the percentage is 42.69, number four after Spain, Italy, and France. According to World Population, Indonesia is the country with the lowest percentage on the list with 26.96%.
Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) affects approximately 40% of women by age 50. Estrogen is related to hair growth and hair loss for women. When estrogen levels are high, hair appears thicker and healthier.
Growing and Regrowing Hair
Men’s hair grows faster than women’s. Anticipating sex makes the hair grow faster. Are these facts related?
Fun fact: According to Wella, in the 16th century, a doctor claimed applying a blend of boiled slugs, olive oil, honey, saffron, soap, and cumin on the scalp could restore hair.
Today, one common treatment to regrow hair is Minoxidil. It is available OTC as liquid or foam to be massaged into the scalp. Tablets in various strengths are available by prescription.
In addition, you can find various nutritional supplements, shampoos, and topical applications on line and in drugstores. Recently, I’ve noticed lots of TV commercials for Nutripol.
And then there is regrowth equipment featuring laser treatments. You can easily find $199 lasercombs or a laser hair growth helmet $995.
Hairstyling Equipment
I didn’t find statistics on the most used hair equipment, but the most popular tools seem to be hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons, and hair brushes. (Good Morning America, missamericanmade.com) Below is a more comprehensive list, although certainly not exhaustive. How many do you use? Others in your household?
Dryer
Brushes
Clips
Combs
Ornamental combs
Curling/straightening iron
Rollers
Clippers
Pins and barrettes
Beads
Headbands
Kanzashi (hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles)
Ribbons
Hair ties
Scissors
Shower cap
Sleeping cap
Hair Care Products
In 2022, American consumers spent around $85.53 on hair care products. (Statista) The average spending per month on hair products is $31, according to Advanced Dermatology. Frankly, I’m surprised it isn’t more, given all the products in use:
- Coloring agents
- Conditioners
- Gel
- Glue
- Mask
- Mousse
- Scalp scrubs
- Serum
- Spray
- Sonic
- Wax
- Pomade
- Shampoo
- As of Feb 22, 2025, according to Brainly, the number of shampoo options available to Americans is estimated to be at least 600 different products.
- As of Feb 22, 2025, according to Brainly, the number of shampoo options available to Americans is estimated to be at least 600 different products.
Looking at the big picture, “Hair care boasts one of the largest shares in the global beauty market, about 22 percent as of 2022, second only to the skin care segment. In the United States, forecasts show that revenues for hair care will increase up to 14.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2028.” (Statista)
Assorted Hairy Information
And to end this blog, a few fun facts from Wella that don’t fit anywhere else:
A single strand of hair can support up to 6.5 pounds of weight. That means a whole head of hair can support up to 2 tons (though the owner’s neck and spine might protest)!
The major cause of dandruff is a fungus called Malassezia globosa, which pushes dead skin cells to the surface quicker than normal.
Believe it or not, humans have the same amount of hair follicles per square inch as a chimpanzee!
Less than 4% of the world’s population has natural red hair.
The color of hair depends on how much melanin each strand has. Or which hair dye you use!
Someone purchased a lock of Elvis’ hair at an auction for $15,000.
Bottom Line: Hair is virtually everywhere, and hair issues are virtually innumerable.
STEALING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY!
Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else’s work, words, or ideas as your own without proper attribution. (Plagiarism.org, Yale University) Plagiarizing is representing another person’s language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one’s own original work. Most people consider it a violation of academic integrity and journalistic ethics. (Wikipedia)
Plagiarism can take many forms, according to Bowdoin College:
- Direct plagiarism (word-for-word copying without quotation marks)
- Self-plagiarism (submitting your own previous work without permission)
- Mosaic plagiarism (borrowing phrases without quotation marks or using synonyms while keeping the original structure)
- Accidental plagiarism (neglecting to cite sources)
The University of Oxford defines plagiarism as “Presenting work or ideas from another source as your own, with or without consent of the original author.”
The above would make it seem as though plagiarism is largely an academic concern, but not so. It can be a concern for creative writers, musicians, visual artists, essayists—pretty much anyone who comes up with a concept or product and makes it public. As stated in a slightly different way, plagiarism is the use of another’s work, words, or ideas without attribution. (Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning) It is also defined as the use, without giving reasonable and appropriate credit to or acknowledging the author or source, of another person’s original work. (Stanford Office of Community Standards)
Is It Plagiarized?
In actual practice, plagiarism may not be so clear. For example, professional speech writers write the words for politicians or others who frequently speak in public. Is the speaker plagiarizing?
Fan Works
And then there is fan-fiction. The entire point is to use characters or plot lines from the works of a popular, admired writer. The source of the ideas is inherent in the genre. Is further acknowledgement required? Or permission?
For example, there are hundreds of “variations” on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Using the characters and place names and some of the basic tenets are central to these works. And whatever else changes, whatever obstacles they face, Elizabeth and Darcy come together in the end.
Common Facts
What about facts? For example, what is the most popular spice in the United States? Black pepper. This same information can be found on numerous websites. Is a reference necessary, or can one say “according to sources across the web”?
As a writer, I have a notebook of words or phrases I’ve come across that strike me as strong or effective. Beef-brained. Butt-polished pews. Veins stand out like blue worms twisting. Skinny and straight as a broom handle. A look so pointed it could bruise. Dare I ever use such in my own writing? I have no idea where I heard or read them.
Plagiarism in the Public Domain
And what about public domain? According to Wikipedia, “The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds the exclusive rights, anyone can legally use or reference those works without permission.”
“As examples, the works of William Shakespeare, Ludwig van Beethoven, Miguel de Cervantes, Zoroaster, Lao Zi , Confucius, Aristotle, L. Frank Baum, Leonardo da Vinci and Georges Méliès are in the public domain either by virtue of their having been created before copyright existed, or by their copyright term having expired. [1] Some works are not covered by a country’s copyright laws, and are therefore in the public domain; for example, in the United States, items excluded from copyright include the formulae of Newtonian physics and cooking recipes. [5] Other works are actively dedicated by their authors to the public domain (see waiver); examples include reference implementations of cryptographic algorithms. [6] The term public domain is not normally applied to situations where the creator of a work retains residual rights, in which case use of the work is referred to as ‘under license’ or ‘with permission’”.
Public Domain, Wikipedia authors
Common knowledge does not need to be cited. But what qualifies? Information generally known to an educated reader, such as widely known facts and dates, and sometimes ideas or language. Information that most people know or can find out easily in an encyclopedia or dictionary. MIT says it’s information shared by a cultural or national group, and includes knowledge shared by members of a certain field. Just about any subject has common knowledge, including science, literature, history, or entertainment. That George Washington was the first president of the United States is common knowledge for most citizens of the U.S.
If you want more examples, a search for “common knowledge questions” will give you many options.
The widespread availability of AI has further complicated issues of plagiarism. Most generative AI systems and large language models rely heavily on creative output (music, writing, and visual art) taken without the artists’ knowledge or permission to generate imitations. Students now openly admit to using generative AI to plagiarize all of their college assignments.
Plagiarism Fallout
Consequences of plagiarism in school can include failing grades, suspension, or expulsion. (Yale University) Academic Institutions may fire or otherwise censure faculty members who plagiarize. Novelists, composers, or visual artists may sue a plagiarist and win monetary compensation. And regardless of anything else, a plagiarist suffers public shame for the theft of intellectual property.
By any definition, plagiarism is bad. So, don’t do it! If you don’t want to plagiarize “accidentally” there are tools to help you. Here are two I quickly found online:
(1) Instant Plagiarism Scan – Ensure originality and make the grade with Grammarly’s AI-powered plagiarism checker. Don’t risk plagiarizing! Instantly find and add sources for your work. Try it today. Fix punctuation mistakes. (https://www.grammarly.com/plagiarism/checker)
(2) Instant Plagiarism Scan – Plagiarism checker: Fast, Reliable & User-friendly. Perfect For Students & Professionals. Get Instant Plagiarism Analysis Write Clear, Compelling Papers And Essays with JustDone AI Humanizer Tool (https://www.justdone.com/plagiarism)
Bottom Line: Think—and research if necessary—before you publish.
PAIN, AGONY, HURT!
Studies suggest that about 10% of one’s nervous system is dedicated to sensing pain. Given what else the nervous system does—sight, smell, taste, hearing, thinking, moving, digestion, etc., etc., etc.—that’s a lot!
Why so much attention to pain? As it turns out, there are benefits to feeling poorly.
Pain for Gain
Foremost is survival: without unpleasant sensations, we wouldn’t know to avoid fire, allow injuries to heal, attend wounds such as broken bones or cuts, etc.
There are additional ways in which negative feelings lead to have positive consequences.
Pain facilitates pleasure by providing an important contrast for pleasurable experiences, increasing sensitivity to sensory input, and facilitating self-rewarding behavior.
Pain augments self-regulation and enhancement by increasing cognitive control, reducing rumination, and demonstrating virtue.
Pain promotes affiliation by arousing empathy from others, motivating social connection, and enhancing group formation.
Pain Reduction
But for all of that, we try to avoid or minimize feeling bad. Indeed, pain is the most common reason why people seek medical care. Seeking relief is not a new phenomenon, but getting it is.
Surgeons have been using general anesthesia in the Islamic world for nearly two thousand years. In the 1600s, many European doctors gave their patients opium to relieve pain.
The earliest European surgeons operated while keeping patients wide awake and physically restrained. By the 1800s, the nicest surgeons introduced ether and chloroform anesthetics for surgery. And why was this controversial?
Several major religions view physical suffering as intrinsically linked with atonement or moral goodness. Some, such as Buddhism and Taoism, hold that it is caused by an imbalance within the individual and can only be resolved through personal effort. Others, such as Christianity, have historically believed that suffering brings one closer to an ideal spiritual state.
Some doctors questioned the ethics of operating on unconscious patients. Others were concerned that relieving pain might hamper healing. “But the surgeons could not long resist their new power to perform longer and more complex procedures, and most patients thought anesthesia a divine blessing,” wrote Marcia Meldrum, an associate researcher in the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles.
By the 1900s, people were using morphine and heroin as pain medications. At first, doctors thought these “safe.” However, over time, it became clear that these treatments also made people vulnerable to addictions.
Until this time, the medical field considered pain to be primarily a problem to manage in acute care (related to injury, for example, or surgery) or during a painful death from cancer.
“Flavors” of Pain
Acute pain is what you feel when you become hurt or injured. You may have experienced acute pain from an injury such as a cut or a broken limb or from disease or inflammation in the body. Acute pain can be intense and severe, but it typically resolves as your body heals from whatever caused it.
Nociceptive pain is caused by tissue damage. Most acute pain is nociceptive.
According to NIH, chronic pain is a sensation that lasts much longer than acute pain―usually months and sometimes years. Chronic pain sometimes has a clear cause, such as an acute injury, a long illness, or damage to and dysfunction of your nervous system. However, it sometimes happens without any obvious reason. Medical providers have often assumed that patients complaining of on-going pain are delusional, hypchrondiacal, malingering, or addicts. Patients often turn to psychotherapy, or sometimes neurosurgery.
Neuropathic pain is caused by nerve damage or dysfunction. You can experience neuropathic pain from injuries or illness that affect the spinal cord and brain (for example, a slipped disc in your spine) or the peripheral nervous system (the nerves throughout the rest of your body). This kind of discomfort often feels similar to burning, shooting, or stabbing.
Inflammatory pain happens when your immune system activates in response to injury or infection. In addition to causing redness or swelling, it can also make you more sensitive to feelings of pain.
Everyone’s pain feels differently, and the only way to know whether someone is hurting is to ask. Has a medical practitioner asked you to rate your discomfort on a scale from 1 to 10? They may also ask you to describe what you feel: dull, throbbing, aching, shooting, stabbing, etc.
Treatment Options
Just as there isn’t a way to measure it objectively, there isn’t one single treatment that will work for everyone. It often involves a combination of treatments, which may include:
- Over-the-counter and prescription medications (such as pain relievers and drugs that reduce inflammation)
- Physical and occupational therapy to improve function and limit discomfort
- Counseling and therapy to teach skills for coping with pain
- Medical treatments (such as medications and injections) to interrupt the brain’s signals or change how nerves process painful sensations
- Neuromodulation therapies (devices that stimulate nerves or the spinal cord) to reduce pain
- Complementary and integrative therapies (such as acupuncture and mindfulness meditation).
And When Nothing Helps…
Chronic pain is an enormous problem.
More than 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience chronic pain. Chronic conditions, such as low back pain and migraine, are the leading causes of disability around the world.
Not surprisingly, rates of chronic pain, including conditions that severely limit work or life activities, are highest among adults ages 65 and older.
In the 1980s, several prominent pain specialists suggested that opiods had a “low incidence of addictive behavior.” They pushed for increased use of the drugs to treat long-term, non-cancer pain, as Meldrum noted in her paper “The Ongoing Opioid Prescription Epidemic: Historical Context.” Today we all know how wrong they were, and we are still trying to undo the opioid crisis.
Where Does Aspirin Come From?
Apart from prescription medications, over-the-counter options are popular. Aspirin, as it is known today, was first developed in 1895 in Germany. By 1915, Bayer Pharmaceuticals developed the first tablet form, which they then sold throughout the world as a medicine.
The active ingredient in aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, which is formed by the acetylation of salicylic acid, which is derived from natural plant sources such as jasmine, willow and poplar trees, as well as certain species of legumes.
This gives credence to the efficacy of willow bark tea for minor aches and pains, as long claimed by folk medicine practitioners.
However, aspirin is no longer made from willow bark. Today, pharmaceutical companies derive aspirin from plants of the Spiraea genus. Compounders then convert the salicylic acid into acetylsalicylic acid via acetylation.
Aspirin is very useful in many ways besides pain relief. Indeed, doctors use it as a blood thinner to treat clots. At a daily dose of 81mg, it is helpful in preventing future heart attacks.
But beware: You should not use aspirin if you have a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia, a recent history of stomach or intestinal bleeding, or if you are allergic to an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Orudis, Indocin, Lodine, Voltaren, Toradol, Mobic, Relafen, Feldene, and others.
OTC Alternatives
A common alternative to aspirin is Tylenol. Acetaminophen, commonly sold under this brand name, is a non-opioid analgesic that relieves pain and reduces fever. Acetaminophen regulates the body’s temperature and alters its perception of pain.
Tylenol is generally safe at recommended doses. For adults weighing more than 110 pounds (50 kg), the recommended acetaminophen dosage is 1000 mg every six hours or 650 mg every four hours.
Risks
However, elderly individuals may face higher risks of certain side effects due to physiological changes, including:
- Liver Damage: Aging decreases liver efficiency. This raises the risk of liver damage from acetaminophen, especially if taken in high doses or with alcohol.
- Kidney Damage: As kidney function naturally declines with age, long-term or high-dose use of acetaminophen may lead to kidney damage in the elderly, particularly if their kidneys are already compromised.
- Gastrointestinal Issues: Although Tylenol is easier on the stomach than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), it can still cause gastrointestinal discomfort. This may include nausea, constipation, or diarrhea.
- Acetaminophen toxicity occurs when a person takes more than the recommended dosage of this medicine. Tylenol overdose leads to 56,000 emergency department visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and 500 deaths each year in the United States, making it one of the most common poisonings. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing!
Apart from any hedonistic motives to “just feel good,” pain is an economic drain: the estimated yearly national cost of pain, including medical treatments, disability, and lost productivity, is $560 billion to $635 billion in the U.S. alone!
Bottom Line: Pain is universal, and treating it is only human. But proceed with caution!
BLACK GOLD
I love freshly ground black pepper! Those who know me know my favorite flavor so well that a friend gave me my personal pepper grinder, with a black bag to carry it with me virtually anywhere.
Pepper loses its flavor and aroma through evaporation, so keep it in an airtight container and out of the sun. For the best flavor, grind whole peppercorns just before eating. But beware: whipping out your personal pepper grinder at McDonald’s might earn you some stares and side-eyed looks.
And I’m not alone in liking pepper. Black pepper represents about 50% of a typical restaurant’s spice usage. The United States is currently the world’s biggest consumer of pepper. As of 2024, the United States imported US$325.6 million (19% of total black pepper imports).
Nor is pepper only recently appreciated. People have used pepper in cooking for over 4,000 years. Ancient Egyptians placed pepper in the nostrils of mummies to accompany the pharaohs over 2,500 years before Christ.
History
Long before “black gold” came to mean oil in some places, in the “Old World” it was a synonym for pepper. Pepper was so valuable in ancient times that people used it to pay taxes, tributes, dowries, and rent. It was weighed like gold and used as a common medium of exchange.
In ancient Greece, priests offered pepper to the gods in sacred rituals and even used it in place of gold.
Pliny the Elder complained in 77 C.E. about the price of peppercorns and the amount of money Rome paid to India every year for black pepper. When Alaric, king of the Visigoths, captured Rome in AD 410, he demanded 3,000 pounds of pepper (in addition to gold and silver) as ransom.
There are some arguments that black pepper may have been available in China as early as the Second Century B.C.E., during the Han Dynasty. However, historians generally agree that the hujiao (胡椒, foreign pepper) described in Chinese records in the Third Century C.E., was piper nigrum, black pepper.
Saint Aldhelm, a seventh century Bishop of Sherborne, wrote a riddle about the value of pepper in his life:
I am black on the outside, clad in a wrinkled cover,
Yet within I bear a burning marrow.
I season delicacies, the banquets of kings, and the luxuries of the table,
Both the sauces and the tenderized meats of the kitchen.
But you will find in me no quality of any worth,
Unless your bowels have been rattled by my gleaming marrow.
In the Middle Ages in Europe, pepper was an acceptable form of currency in some regions. Indeed, at times, peppercorns were worth more by weight than silver. A scornful term for wealthy merchants in medieval Germany was pfeffersack or “pepper sack.” The value of peppercorns, among other spices, made ventures like that of Christopher Columbus a worthwhile financial prospect.
Is Black Pepper Good for Anything but Flavor?
All indications are “Yes.” And here’s an overview!
Like many spices, pepper was historically both a seasoning and a medicine. Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani medicines in India all mention black peppercorns. The Buddhist Samaññaphala Sutta lists pepper as one of the few medicines monks may carry. The 5th century Syriac Book of Medicines prescribes pepper for many illnesses:
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Earache
- Gangrene
- Heart disease
- Hernia
- Hoarseness
- Indigestion
- Insect bites
- Insomnia
- Joint pain
- Liver problems
- Lung disease
- Oral abscesses
- Sunburn
- Tooth decay
- Toothaches
Various sources from the 5th century onward also say pepper is good to treat eye problems. Sometimes, physicians applied special ointments containing pepper directly to the eye. There is no current medical evidence that any of these treatments has any benefit; pepper applied directly to the eye would be quite uncomfortable and possibly damaging.
What Modern Research Reveals
Black pepper on its own provides some of the minerals needed in a healthy diet. One tablespoon (6 grams) of ground black pepper contains moderate amounts of vitamin K (13% of the daily value or DV), iron (10% DV), and manganese (18% DV), with trace amounts of other essential nutrients, protein, and dietary fiber.
Scientists at the Royal Society of Medicine and Sabinsa Corporation are studying piperine’s potential to increase absorption of selenium, vitamin B12, beta-carotene, and curcumin, as well as other compounds.
Black pepper and its active compound piperine may have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Laboratory studies suggest that black pepper may improve cholesterol levels, blood sugar control, and brain and gut health.
Despite these promising findings, more studies in humans are needed to better understand the exact health benefits of black pepper and its concentrated extracts.
Pepper can irritate the intestines. Doctors encourage patients having abdominal surgery or ulcers to eliminate black pepper from their diets.
Components of black pepper are often added to commercial mouthwashes and breath fresheners to treat sore throats.
The caffeine content level of black pepper, as far as I could find, is negligible.
Pepper contains small amounts of safrole, a carcinogenic compound. I found no evidence that this is problematic.
How Many Kinds of Black Pepper are There?
Excluding sweet bell peppers, chili peppers, etc., which are entirely different plants, there’s only one pepper.
Black Pepper comes from the dried fruit peppercorn (piper nigrum). It grows on a perennial flowering vine. When the plants reach maturity, peppercorns are stripped from the stem and then boiled for a few minutes before drying in the sun for several days. They are then flash dried. Black peppercorns are green when harvested and change color while drying.
Commercial pepper comes in many colors—green, black, red, and white—but all come from the same plant, the color determined by how ripe it is and how it has been processed.
White peppercorns are black pepper without skin. Ground table pepper is typically 70% black and 30% white. However, the good stuff is 50/50.
While black pepper is a staple in most American kitchens, white pepper is more popular in French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Swedish cooking. White pepper, though similar to black, has a sharper and mustier flavor. Use care when substituting one for the other!
Because the berries remain on the vine longer than normal before harvest, red peppercorns are the most expensive available.
Growers classify pepper as either garbled or un-garbled. The garbled variety is black and nearly globular, with a wrinkled surface. The ungarbled variety also has a wrinkled surface, but the color varies from dark brown to black.
Once the peppercorns are dried, pepper spirit and oil can be extracted from the berries by crushing them. Many medicinal and beauty products include pepper spirit. Pepper oil is also popular in ayurvedic massage oil and in certain beauty and herbal treatments.
Note: A completely unrelated species (chili peppers from the Capsicum family) is referred to as “red pepper.” Chili peppers, which are native to the Americas, were originally introduced to Europe as a substitute for black pepper due to their pungent flavor.
And a Few More Pepper Facts
People have long believed pepper is the cause for sneezing. Some sources say that piperine irritates the nostrils, which will cause the sneezing. Others say that it is just the effect of the fine dust in ground pepper. Still others say that pepper is not in fact a very effective sneeze-producer at all. Few if any controlled studies have been carried out to answer the question.
The plant is particular about soil conditions and thrives in soil that is “just right,” not too dry and not too wet.
Pepper is cultivated in tropical regions and is native to the Malabar region of southern India, where it grows as a tall vine with the peppercorns as flowering drupes.
Traders formed spice routes from India to Europe and often fought over them. One source maintains that, in an attempt to establish direct trade with Indian pepper plantations, Christopher Columbus inadvertently stumbled upon the Americas and consequently mislabeled the native inhabitants as “Indians.”
In the past, the expense of pepper limited its consumption to the extremely wealthy classes in India. For the first time, India is now a net pepper importer because of rising consumption among the growing middle class.
Accounting for about 20% of the monetary value of the world’s spice trade, black pepper is now produced mainly in India, Vietnam, Brazil, and Indonesia.
Pastry chefs in fine dining restaurants include black pepper in all kinds of desserts. It’s an especially delicious surprise in chocolate sweets, from fudge brownies and chocolate layer cake to chocolate truffles.
What Pepper isn’t Good For
A commonly held myth claims that cooks in the Middle Ages used pepper to conceal the taste of partially rotten meat. There is no evidence to support this claim, and historians view it as highly unlikely: in the Middle Ages, pepper was a luxury item, affordable only to the very wealthy, who certainly had unspoiled meat available. In addition, at that time, people certainly knew that eating spoiled food would make them sick. In fact, a law in York, England required butchers to sell meat within 24 hours of slaughtering or face a fine!
A similar belief that pepper was in wide use as a preservative is also questionable. It is true that piperine, the compound that gives pepper its spiciness, has some antimicrobial properties. However, at the concentrations present when pepper is used as a spice, the effect is small.
Bottom Line: Given possible health effects, and no evidence of possible “overdose,” this amazing flavor-enhancer is worth adding to your daily cooking: its bold flavor is a great addition to almost any dish, savory or sweet.