Healthful orange bell peppers

Bell peppers are packed with vitamins (especially vitamin C), minerals, and disease-fighting compounds. Rich in antioxidants, bell peppers can protect your heart, lower your blood pressure, and help control blood sugar. The vitamin C in bell peppers helps boost your immune system and helps neutralize free radicals in your body. And since your body can’t store vitamin C, you need to be sure to get your daily requirement. Bell peppers pack a lot of nutritious punch into just a few tasty calories.

Bell peppers pack even more nutrients in their more colorful forms, especially red and yellow. The vitamin, mineral, and micronutrient content in the brighter, more colorful peppers is significantly higher.

Here are some of the other ways bell peppers contribute to good health.

Blood Pressure

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, including green bell peppers, is one way to support healthy blood pressure. The antioxidants in bell peppers can contribute to lower blood pressure, which can also lower the risk of heart disease. And they contain an anticoagulant that may help prevent the formation of blood clots.

Antioxidant Engine

While the fully ripened versions of bell peppers have a lot going for them—including super-high levels of vitamin C—the green bell pepper has been found to have higher antioxidant content than its brighter counterparts. Compounds called phenolic acids occur in higher levels in green peppers; these compounds help fight heart disease, mental decline, fatty liver, and insulin resistance. Bell peppers are also rich in vitamin E, with antioxidant properties to support healthy skin and fight inflammation.

Digestive Health

Bell peppers are a good source of fiber—essential for digestive health. Eating fiber-rich foods can help protect your digestive system from ailments like colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Fiber-rich foods such as bell peppers also play a part in keeping your digestive system balanced—preventing constipation and contributing to a healthy gut bacteria balance.

Brain Health

Studies have shown that compounds called phenolic acids—especially a compound called p-coumaric acid—may contribute to better brain health by helping protect against mental decline.

Eye Health

The vitamin C in all bell peppers and the addition of beta-carotene in yellow, orange, and red peppers contributes to good eye health. Green bell peppers contain lutein, a nutrient that helps protect your eyes against damage to your photoreceptors because of light exposure. A diet rich in lutein may also help reduce the risk of macular degeneration, a condition that can cause vision loss.

Healthy Weight

Bell peppers are low in calories, and high in water, flavor, and fiber, and they’re full of nutrients that contribute to your overall health. Studies have shown that people who eat more fruits and vegetables tend to have lower body fat levels than folks who don’t each much in the way of produce. A healthy diet rich in produce may contribute to a healthier body weight.

Did you know that bell peppers are so healthful? Please tell us your biggest reason for growing and eating bell peppers.