If you like some spice, jalapeño peppers can be a great food to have in your diet. These small peppers are packed with heat and heat benefits. The jalapeño is part of the chili pepper family, and ranges anywhere from 1,000 to 20,000 Scoville units (though typically 2,500-10,000), classifying it as a hot pepper.
Jalapeño peppers are one of the most common hot peppers because they offer some kick, but are manageable for most people. Jalapeños originate from Mexico. While they are typically picked and used while still green, the peppers will turn orange, yellow, or red when fully matured. The flesh of the pepper is fairly sweet, similar to bell peppers. The heat (and some of the health benefits) comes from the seeds. You’ll want to eat both seed and flesh for the full impact of this pepper.
Jalapeños enhance flavour, and are packed with a wide range of nutrients. Jalapeño peppers are a good source of riboflavin, niacin, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. They are also a very good source of dietary fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, potassium, copper, and manganese.
Jalapeño Peppers Health Benefits
There are a lot of important health benefits that come from the vitamins listed above.
Vitamin C is needed by the body. It works as an antioxidant, fighting oxidative stress, and is also an important immune-booster. It helps prevent, and shorten the duration of colds. It is also important for healing the body.
Vitamin B6 is an important B vitamin, which plays a role in the body’s use of energy. It is needed for energy (calories) metabolism, and therefore can have a direct impact on weight.
Vitamin A is important for ocular health, specifically on retinal health. Like vitamin C, is it also an important antioxidant. Vitamin A works as an anti-aging vitamin to help protect your skin from wrinkles. Not only does it help fight wrinkles, but studies show this nutrient can help improve your complexion and reduce acne.
People spend hundreds are thousands of dollars on anti-aging beauty products, when the best method to keeping your body looking and feeling youthful is through a good diet rich in these anti-aging nutrients. Some nutrients work at protecting, some repairing, and others strengthen the body. The body needs a mix of these vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They keep the body working at its best. You have to be smart about what you eat, and jalapeños are a wise choice.
Like cayenne, or the Chile pepper, jalapeño peppers are a good source of capsaicin, which is the source of many of these peppers’ health benefits. Capsaicin reduces your appetite (helping you stop cravings), and boosts the amount of fat you burn. These hot peppers also release a natural cooling effect in the body, and lower the risk of stomach ulcers.
Studies have found that the capsaicin in peppers, has a small, but visible impact on burning energy (calories). It has also been found to have antioxidant activity.
Jalapeños are a great food, and can be a healing and preserving food. However, like with any good whole food, they can be used in unhealthy ways. You have to be smart about how you eat these healthy peppers. There are many healthy ways of eating them, but they have become a popular ingredient in many unhealthy hors d’oeuvres.
Spice up your life with jalapeños.
