ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

Commonly found in green, yellow and red colours (in order of ripeness), bell peppers are part of the nightshade family. Like tomatoes, bell peppers are botanically classified as fruits, though most people treat them as vegetables. I affectionately refer to bell peppers as the grenade fruit, due to their shape and the stem on top.

7 Bell Pepper Nutrition Benefits

1. Burn Calories
2. Loaded with Vitamins
3. Boosts Immune System
4. Improves Eyesight
5. Contains Antioxidants
6. High Water Content
7. Combats Arthritis

1. Burn Calories

Though not as spicy as chillies, bell peppers are also able to raise metabolic rate through thermogenesis, which can last up to twenty minutes after consumption. During this time, the body will burn additional calories.  

2. Loaded with Vitamins

Particularly vitamin C, bell peppers contain 200% of your recommended daily intake. Vitamin C helps with iron absorption, it has high antioxidant properties, and it supports your immune system. Bell peppers also contain high amounts of vitamin A, B6, E, and K.

3. Boosts Immune System

A combination of vitamin C and the firepower provided in bell peppers mentioned earlier lead to bacterial annihilation.

4. Improves Eyesight

Vitamin A helps increase eyesight, particularly at night, and prevents the build-up of cataracts in the retina.

5. Contains Antioxidants

At this point, I am pretty convinced most fruit and vegetables contain antioxidants! Pretty much every single one I have researched has antioxidant properties listed! In the case of ball peppers, the combination of various carotenoids is responsible for the high antioxidant properties present.  

6. High Water Content

Like cucumbers, bell peppers contain plenty of water content, which helps with hydration and also in weight loss by providing increased satiety.

7. Combats Arthritis 

The carotenoids contained in bell pepper can also reduce swelling in the joints, which can lead to arthritis.

Conclusion

A while ago, I was having a chat with a friend about my diet, and he mentioned that I might not be consuming enough vegetables. I thought about it and realised he might be right. I have more than two fruit each day, but supposedly due to the sugar content, only two fruit can be counted toward the five a day target.

I only have a salad and cucumber, which was leaving me one short from the benchmark. My lentils curry also includes onions, but since it is finely chopped, I do not include it as part of my five a day. Therefore I decided to revisit the bell pepper and have incorporated it into my curry so that I meet the required five a day. Even if it is botanically considered a fruit, bell pepper nutrition benefits are vast.

With the current times that we live in, it might not be a bad idea to throw a couple of these bad boys into your stir fry or curry for an additional immunity boost. Or even eat them raw!

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.