Why You Want More Bell Peppers in Your Life

 

If you want a powerhouse of nutrition, you got to respect humble bell peppers, capsicums. Though you may think of a sweet pepper as a vegetable, it is really a fruit related to the deadly nightshade family.

All varieties of bell peppers start out as green sweet peppers, but when left on the vine further can ripen to yellow, orange and eventually red. Each of these color stages is from the plant’s pigment, the carotenoids emerging through the pepper’s skin.

Whether you prefer green sweet peppers, yellow or red bell peppers, you can’t lose for all the amazing health benefits they offer due to their abundance of antioxidants. However, not all of them rank the same when compared side by side for the amount of these vitamins, especially vitamin C for everything from aiding your immune system, building fresh collagen for your skin, protecting against heart disease, keeping eyes healthy, controlling weight to preventing certain cancers, and keeping blood sugars better managed.

The bell pepper that has the most nutritional impact is the red sweet pepper. In fact, the red bell pepper might be considered the superstar of the sweet pepper family with all its vitamins, minerals and high concentrations of antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin A in the form of carotenoids, particularly lycopene. It also has several B vitamins such as vitamin B6 and folic acid. In addition, it also contains vitamin K, manganese and potassium among its incredible components.

Just for the record, one study found that a single red pepper had more vitamin C nutritional value than drinking what you would consume in three 8-ounce glasses of orange juice. It also is outstanding for more than half of daily vitamin A.

Of course, the best way to benefit eating bell peppers is raw because cooking does lessen the vitamin content somewhat. Therefore, if you want a great recipe using bell peppers, then you need to taste my Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers.