Peppers are beneficial for disorders of the Immune System, the Skin, Hair and Eyes, the Respiratory System and the Heart and Circulatory System.
Peppers are useful in treating age related macular degeneration (eye sight), night and colour vision, heart and circulatory disorders, skin problems, mucous membrane problems of the lungs and sinusses, cancers.
Sweet peppers, together with pimento and chilli peppers are all Capsicums and have been used as food and medicine for more than five thousand years. They’re an important source of nutrients. Very low in calories (15-32 per 100g), very rich in vitamin C, and an important source of Vitamin A - 100g of red peppers provide almost a whole day’s requirements - as well as folic acid, fibre and potassium.
The Vitamin C content stays high, even some weeks after harvesting, especially if you keep them in the fridge. They’re also an important source of other carotenoids, apart from betacarotene, most importantly lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which are protective against the eye disease age related macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in old age.
Their rich content of the antioxidant bioflavonoids makes peppers protective against heart and circulatory disease, as well as some cancers.
The total antioxidant activity of a food is tested using a measure called the ORAC scale. To counteract the harmful oxidising effects of everything the average person eats, drinks and breathes in a day, around 1650 ORAC units are required in the food and drink consumed daily. Scientists believe that over 80% of the World's population actually fails to get more than 800 ORAC units per day, leaving the body open to damage by oxidation, which can ultimately lead to heart, liver, digestion and kidney diseases and most importantly cancer. Red bell peppers contain around 710 ORAC units.
Nutrients
Sweet peppers are all green when harvested. As they ripen, they turn red, orange or yellow.
Peppers are all members of the Nightshade family and, as such, contain a compound called Solanine which has an inflammatory effect. It is normally destroyed in the digestive system; however, some researchers have claimed that consumption of foods containing Solanine could make symptoms of inflammatory diseases such as Osteoarthritis worse in some people.