Green peppers
Posted by Wen Dan Jiang on
Are Green Bell Peppers Good for You? – Key Health Benefits
Bell peppers are deliciously crunchy and colourful culinary ingredients that can be used in a variety of different types of cuisine.
Not only do they work incredibly well in salads, stir fries, curries, soups, stews, sandwiches, and pizzas, they also do your body a whole world of good in the process.
Bell peppers come in a variety of different colours, though generally you’ll find them coming in either red, yellow, or green. Each colour pepper, whilst looking the same (other than the colour) has a unique taste. The peppers we’re looking at today, are green.
Green peppers not only have a different taste to red and yellow bell peppers, they also have a different nutritional profile and therefore they offer different health benefits.
Green bell peppers promote healthy vision, they’re rich in antioxidants, they can help prevent anaemia, and they can ease inflammation in the body.
But precisely how do green bell peppers provide these health benefits? Let’s take a look, shall we?
Promotes healthy vision
When it comes to your eyes, carrots often steal the spotlight in terms of being healthy ingredients for people looking to improve their vision.
In reality, though, green bell peppers are considered even more effective when it comes to ocular health.
Green peppers contain carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which both help to protect the retina, prevent macular degeneration and cataracts, and protect the eyes from oxidative stress and damage.
Put simply, eating more green peppers on a regular basis is a great way of protecting your eyes and helping to keep them healthy.
Anti-inflammatory properties
Another reason why so many health experts recommend the consumption of green bell peppers on a regular basis is due to the fact that they possess anti-inflammatory properties.
Green bell peppers contain vitamin C and vitamin K, which both help to ease inflammation.
This means that bell peppers can help to ease pain and discomfort caused by inflammation, I.E headaches, sore joints and so on, plus they can protect against serious chronic diseases and conditions brought on by inflammation.
The anti-inflammatory properties provided by bell peppers also mean that you could potentially help avoid heart disease, stroke, heart attacks, osteoporosis, and much more besides.
Can prevent anaemia
When people think about anaemia treatment and/or prevention, they often think of red meat due to the fact that it contains B vitamins, zinc, and iron.
It turns out, though, that bell peppers are also great sources of iron and B vitamins, along with many other nutrients as well.
You see, a primary cause of anaemia is a deficiency in iron, so as green bell peppers are very high in this mineral, they’re ideal foods to consume if you’re looking to treat or prevent anaemia.
Just to improve matters further, the high amounts of vitamin C found in bell peppers also prove very useful, as vitamin C increases the absorption of iron from the gut.
On the subject of vitamin C, one green pepper of a medium size provides nearly 170% of your minimum recommended daily intake for vitamin C.