Composition, benefits and harms of red sweet pepper
Sweet varieties of red pepper are cultivated on all continents, as it has found its application in cooking, cosmetology, and medicine. Red fruits are useful for the human body, because they contain a lot of antioxidants that help to strengthen the immune system and prevent the development of cancer. But red vegetables are dangerous for allergy sufferers.
Sweet, or bell pepper appeared on our tables not so long ago. It was brought to Europe from South America. And already Bulgarian breeders have tried to diversify sweet peppers with varieties of different colors. Now vegetables are grown in areas not only with a warm climate, but also in northern latitudes.
Content:
- Composition and benefits of red vegetables
- To whom is it contraindicated?
- The use of pepper in medicine, cooking, cosmetology
- How to choose and store a product correctly?
Composition and benefits of red vegetables
The value of any product lies in its composition. The sweetish pulp of pepper contains vitamins of all groups from A to K. Of natural carotenoids, it contains beta-carotene, which increases the body's immune potential, and zeaxanthin, which is beneficial for vision. The alkaloid group is represented in the fruits of pepper by capsaicin. The substance has a positive effect on appetite, prevents blood clots from forming in blood vessels, thinning the blood. And lycopene, present in red peppers and tomatoes, fights cancer cells, prolongs youth.
The content of ascorbic acid in red fruits of vegetables exceeds the daily intake of vitamin C for humans. Red peppers have more vitamin A, which is absorbed better with fat. Therefore, it is better to use the product with vegetable oil.
Among the useful properties of red sweet peppers, important ones can be distinguished:
- Vitamin P in vegetable fruits helps to strengthen blood vessels, the elasticity of their walls. Therefore, it is useful to eat vegetable salads for people with varicose veins, thrombosis, and vegetative-vascular dystonia.
- Pepper fruits are rich in potassium and magnesium, so they will help to normalize blood pressure, relieve heart spasm.
- Weakened after surgery, a serious illness, it is necessary to include a red vegetable product in the diet in order to strengthen the immune system.
- Flavonoids in pepper pulp relieve nervous tension, soothe.
- Red pepper is useful for pregnant women, as it will supply the body of the expectant mother with trace elements useful for the fetus.
- Vegetable-specific carotenoids restore vision, prevent the development of cataracts.
- One hundred grams of sweet pepper contains only 31 kilocalories, which is useful for people with a large body weight. The alkaloid capsaicin will burn excess fats, and the metabolism will normalize. The substance helps to dissolve the scars on the human skin.
- Pepper is also recommended for patients with chronic diseases of the respiratory system.
The properties of sweet red pepper are used in the treatment of many diseases, cosmetology.
To whom is it contraindicated?
Despite the benefits, red bell peppers are not suitable for everyone. Red fruits are known to cause allergic reactions. Therefore, it is impossible to get involved in a vegetable for those who are prone to manifestations of the disease, as well as for children.
And the increased amount of alkaloids in pepper pulp often leads to stomach dysfunction. Phytoncides irritate the walls of the digestive system, leading to the appearance of gastritis, ulcers.
The vegetable will harm those who consume it in large quantities.
Blood thinning negatively affects the work of the heart, causing arrhythmias, angina pectoris. If epilepsy, kidney and liver diseases, nervous disorders are detected at the stage of exacerbation, then sweet red pepper is excluded from the menu. You can smooth out the negative effect of a vegetable product on the body by heat-treating the vegetable.
The use of pepper in medicine, cooking, cosmetology
Use pepper fresh it is advised to spend in the season of colds, after serious illnesses. Juice is squeezed out of the vegetable pulp, which is useful for rinsing the mouth for those who have stomatitis or gingivitis.
A glass of red pepper juice on an empty stomach half an hour before meals is prescribed for patients with thyroid diseases - the drink will make up for the lack of iodine in the body.
Drinking the juice will also help treat eye inflammation. To improve the taste, you can add a spoonful of honey to a glass of juice. The drink helps to normalize the work of the pancreas, raise the level of glucose in the body. It is drunk three times a day, thirty milliliters on an empty stomach. The dose is gradually increased to 150 milliliters. A mixture of pepper, carrot and spinach juice is used for colic in the intestines.
Cosmetologists have long appreciated the benefits of red sweet pepper:
- Masks made from carrot and pepper juice help whiten the face by lightening age spots and freckles.
- You can give elasticity to the skin of the face and hands with a mask made of crushed bell pepper pulp, a beaten egg and a small amount of sour cream. Aging skin after such a mask looks young and radiant.
- For weakened hair, a nutritional composition is prepared from one pepper fruit, two glasses of kefir, two tablespoons of blue clay, and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Rub in the mixture once a week for twenty to thirty minutes before washing your hair.
In cooking, red pepper is used everywhere, adding to soups, decorating dishes, salads with it. Sauces without bell peppers lose their original flavor. And in winter preparations, not a single housewife does not bypass sweet red pepper. The benefits of the vegetable have been proven, its popularity does not fall, but you need to know in what situations it cannot be used.
How to choose and store a product correctly?
If bell pepper is not grown on the site, then you need to buy it from trusted manufacturers. When choosing a vegetable, pay attention to the integrity of the fruit. The skin should be smooth, not wrinkled, and the pulp should be firm. There is no need to buy fruits with scratches, black spots, signs of rot. The green stalk indicates the freshness of the pepper.
But if the tip of the vegetable is dry or rotten, then the product is not worth buying.
Fresh sweet peppers can be stored for a long time. They need a room with excellent ventilation, where the air humidity is high, and the temperature reaches 1-2 degrees Celsius. If it is hotter, then the vegetable will quickly deteriorate, wither. Peppers are placed in boxes lined with paper or dry sawdust in one row. Then cover them with a layer of material and fold another row. Dry sand is also suitable as a material.
A refrigerator is used for storage in the apartment. Peppers, oiled with vegetable oil, are placed in the vegetable compartment. So they can keep fresh for up to two months. Another way is to freeze the vegetable. At the same time, pepper retains its excellent taste and beneficial properties. Damaged fruits can be salted by cutting them into pieces and placing them in glass jars. Drying the product in the shade is also used. During the winter, it will be possible to feed on vitamins that are hidden in red bell peppers.
More information can be found in the video:
Pepper for me is not just a vegetable, but a kind of delicacy. I use it in salads in the summer, stuff it, and just use it with a side dish. For the winter, only ice cream, both whole and in a sliced form. He absolutely does not lose aroma and taste from this.
I think sweet peppers are harmful to diabetics, the rest will not be harmed. Pepper is cut into salads, added to many dishes during their preparation, the plant gives a pleasant aftertaste.