Are hot/sweet peppers good for you?

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I haven’t searched this; thought I’d ask the knowledgeable folks here about the subject. I recall my grandfather eating hot and spicy stuff a lot while I was growing up. He never, ever ate junk food or sweets either. His cholesterol was real good grandma told me. So, are hot peppers, sweet peppers good for us? Think a uncle of mine said they may help with dissolving the plaque in arteries? Thank You all folks.
 
My grandfather always grew hot peps in the garden. I never learned what he did when he jarred them. They were HOT! but really good. Had my first taste, wasn't much of a taste, at 5 years old. Love spicy to this day.

Not so sure of the clearing plaque though.
 
Peppers are a good source of vitamins A and C, potassium, folic acid, and fiber.



Just keep in mind that the store bought ones can have more pesticides than some other fruits and veggies. Probably better to grow your own, alas, that's not always an option. I still buy some at the store. I also grow Serrano peppers in a pot on my balcony - this year's crop has been exceptionally plentiful. I can't handle them straight, but I chop them into salsa, salads, soups, omelets, etc.

 
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They are high in some vitamins, and potassium, etc.

Unfortunately, the last study I read on Google News says they contribute to Alzhiemers.
 
They have nutritional value, however, some research indicates they can be inflammatory and in the same realm as tomatoes and nightshades, which is why Tom Brady doesn't eat them.
 
I love them. Hotter the better. I’ll eat whole Ghost peppers. I’m getting older and my mouth and stomach don’t agree as much anymore. I try to take it easy or be ready to pay for it. I don’t think more is always better. Maybe mild peppers have the same positive effect as the extreme?
 
Pico de Gallo gives me my daily serving of Jalapeno chili, load it up on breakfast eggs and as a snack with corn chips. :love:
 
I love them. Hotter the better. I’ll eat whole Ghost peppers. I’m getting older and my mouth and stomach don’t agree as much anymore. I try to take it easy or be ready to pay for it. I don’t think more is always better. Maybe mild peppers have the same positive effect as the extreme?
Milder peppers contain all the same nutrients except for little to no capsaicin. They tend to be better for you because you eat a lot more of them... more IS better if it weren't for the heat limiting that. A medium-large bell is maybe 40X the weight of a single ghost/etc super hot pepper. Granted bells contain a lot more water so adjust for that. At the same time if you upset your digestive tract from super hot peppers, you may absorb fewer nutrients as a result, from everything eaten.

However, peppers are not a good source of iron, typical serving has only single digit % of RDA and that's aound 1/2 cup, more hot peppers than most people would eat in a day. They're mostly good for potassium, vitamin C, and A if ripe. Green peppers are not considered ripe in this regard, have to turn to their final color.

One thing about the vitamin C, it's destroyed by cooking them, turns into dehydroascorbic acid then diketogulonic acid. I often turn my super hot peppers into hot sauce and after simmering down and cooled, I put some ascorbic acid back in to lower the pH to preserve them (ascorbic acid = vitamin C). Helps to keep the sauce more concentrated and avoids the vinegar taste too.
 
Certain Asian cultures claim they are terrible for your digestive tract and can contribute to skin issues. It is probably an old wives tale, but who knows.
 
Peppers are a good source of vitamins A and C, potassium, folic acid, and fiber.
Bell peppers are low in potassium which makes them ideal for people with kidney disease. With poor kidney function, potassium will not be properly excreted and that's why people with renal disease need to avoid foods high in potassium in the more advanced staged of kidney disease.
 
I never knew that. Makes sense why the green are the cheapest, I guess. Takes less time?
yes, and less spoilage between farm and market, even if "spoilage" isn't really spoilage but just getting a little wrinkly from dehydrating sitting around before they rot. If I didn't grow peppers for decades, I would turn my nose up at wrinkly produce but growing them, I recognize that they tend to taste the best the most they have aged, and it's about rot and mold, not wrinkling a little. Granted this depends on storage, if you keep decent airflow they can lose some water and not mold for longer. I keep my harvested peppers under constant fan forced airflow but this is a lot of them, more than I would bother doing for grocery store purchases.

At the same time I can appreciate a shopper wanting longest ownership shelf life possible but after a point it is self defeating as far as taste and nutrients.

I grow all my own peppers and even if I want them green harvested, I wait until they have the changing-color sheen to them to harvest, which also tells me they reached maximum size they will, except for this timely topic where I recently had first freeze of season and everything had to be harvested or else frost/freeze damage. On the other hand, once they are shiny I consider them edible.
 
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