4 Red Hot Health Benefits of Chili Peppers 

If you like a little heat when you eat we have some good news for you today courtesy of our friend and healthy lifestyle expert, Danette May.

When you go to the market, do you pass by the chili peppers? Does their fiery reputation strike fear in your heart?

If so, maybe you should reconsider. Chili peppers are more than just hot stuff, they’re one of the healthiest foods around.

Chili peppers come from the same plant family as their cooler-tasting cousin the bell pepper.  Their scientific name is Capsicum annuum and they come in lots of colors, sizes, and levels of heat.

Most of the time, chili peppers are dried, powdered, and used as spices. They can also be cut up and eaten as a vegetable.

They’re mostly water, so it may seem odd that they create so much heat—but it's the capsaicin content in the pepper, and it's a main compound of the spicy vegetable.

They also offer high levels of important minerals and vitamins, including:

Vitamin C
Vitamin B6
Vitamin K1
Potassium
Copper
Vitamin A

People generally only eat a small amount of chili pepper at a time, so the impact of these vitamins is very small when it comes to getting the amount you’re supposed to eat daily, but any source of natural, bioavailable vitamins is nothing to shake your finger at.

4 Red Hot Reasons Your Body Loves Chili Peppers

1—They Help Protect Your Heart

The capsaicin found in chili peppers has been found to cut triglyceride levels, as well as levels of bad cholesterol.

It also helps to stop blood clots from forming. Areas of the world where a lot of chili peppers are eaten tend to have lower rates of heart disease than areas where they are rarely eaten.

2—Chili Peppers May Help Solve Intestinal Diseases

A study conducted at Duke University showed that capsaicin in peppers may provide relief of inflammatory bowel disease. It also kills the bacteria that has been linked to the formation of stomach ulcers.

3—Chili Peppers Fight Inflammation

It may sound funny that a hot food fights inflammation, but it’s true.

The body’s inflammatory process is caused by something called Substance P, and capsaicin offsets its impact. That’s why they’re a good cure for headaches, arthritis, and psoriasis, as well as other inflammatory conditions.

4—Chili Peppers Can Help You Lose Weight

All that heat that chili peppers create does more than light your tongue on fire. They also amp up the body’s ability to burn fat.

They boost the metabolism by heating up your tissue. They also turn white fat into brown fat, the kind that burns calories faster.

There are many kinds of chili peppers available, and you should try them all. Chop them up and toss them onto a salad, into a soup, or into your scrambled eggs.

Just be careful when handling them!

Make sure you wash your hands after you touch them, and don’t touch your eyes or any open cuts. If you do find your eyes or skin burning (or if the taste is too hot for you), remember that milk is the best way to cool things down. You can take a big swallow of milk, or soak a paper towel in milk and hold it up to the area that’s burning.

Yours in health and happiness,
Danette

P.S. If you're looking to fire up your metabolism with real, wholesome foods you will love Danette's Bikini Body Recipes! This cookbook has over 150 quick and easy fat burning recipes that taste AMAZING!