Mark’s Daily Apple wrote a great piece about the amazing nutrition of hot peppers. Here are some of the benefits they listed:
- - Hot peppers are low in calories but high in vitamin C. They also contain carotenoids, lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin.
- - Capsaicin (the compound that makes peppers hot) is anti-inflammatory and helps relieve headache and arthritis pain.
- - Areas of the world with high consumption of foods containing capsaicin (such as South America) have fewer cases of intestinal, stomach, and colon cancers.
- - A 2006 Cancer Research study found that capsaicin causes “cell death” of human prostate cancer cells and may inhibit prostate cancer cells to grow and multiply.
- When you go looking for peppers, you will find that they come in many different shades including green, yellow, red, orange, and purple. WHFoods.org says that each color variety has its own health benefits. Yellow peppers have the most lutein and zeaxanthin carotenoids. Red peppers have the most lycopene and astaxanthin carotenoids. Orange peppers have the most alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and gamma-carotene. Purple peppers have the most anthocyanin flavonoids. If you want some visual help, check out this Peppers Guide.
- It’s also important to note that while most peppers contain capsaicin, bell peppers do not have it. I love hot peppers but I find it hard to add them to my diet on a regular basis. The article on Mark’s Daily Apple recommended adding them to salads, egg dishes, salsa, stir fry, or chili. In addition, I found the following recipes that could be worth a try. Enjoy!
Chili Chili Bang Bang Poblano Salsa by ChefMD®
Jalapeno Chicken from Bon Appétit
Roasted Corn with Parmesan and Cayenne by Tyler Florence
Bookieboo.com
fitarella.com
LaurelMoll.com
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Hot peppers are great for all those reasons, but there are many other health benefits from the capsaicin in hot peppers including benefits for prostate cancer, diabetes, and pain relief. Check out the science at capsicum-capsaicin.com
Unfortunately, many arthritis sufferers, including myself, have found they are allergic to red peppers and other night shade vegetables. The allergies cause painful flare ups that sometimes last for days. However, I have found that topical rubs containing hot peppers help to relieve pain. (I just can’t eat it!)
Thank you for the great information.
~Audrey