Black Pepper: Whole or Ground ?

Fresh Ground Pepper is the best; pre-ground pepper is not good for you. It doesn’t taste very good , and you’ll notice you have to use a lot more of it. Once the peppercorns are cracked open, the protective and flavorful essential oils begin to evaporate. This allows a type of aspergillus mold to grow, which then produces aflatoxin. You may be familiar with aflatoxin already, as it is very toxic to the liver and is the same toxin that occurs with peanuts. If you don’t eat peanuts for this reason , you would not want to use pre-ground pepper either. Freshly ground pepper helps with digestion; pre-ground pepper does not. 

-Garrett L. Smith , N.M.D.