Jalapeños have vitamins, provide the body with nutrients, and are fairly packed with fiber. It has a compound called capsaicin linked to most of its health benefits, including weight loss, managing or preventing stomach ulcers, fighting infections, and relieving pain.
Jalapenos are small red or green hot chili peppers. They are slightly spicy and hot and are commonly used in Mexican cuisines, among other popular recipes. One jalapeno adds modest amounts of vitamins to the body and also supplies it with fiber, making the pepper great for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Jalapenos have capsaicin compounds that owe the pepper most of its health benefits. Below are the surprising health benefits of this hot chili pepper you get to enjoy every time you use it to spice your meals.
a) Jalapenos are nutritious
The nutritional profile of any dietary element is critical in determining its contributions to the body. Jalapenos are nutritious vegetables, considering that a single pepper of this family offers 2% RDI fiber (0.4 g), 2% of the RDI of vitamins A & K, folate, and manganese, 4% of RDI of vitamin B6, and 10% of RDI vitamin C. Yet, all these come with only 4 calories. As such, it makes a great spice for boosting weight loss and scaling down on calories. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that promotes the body’s ability to fight off free radicals, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Vitamin K is yet another critical vitamin the body needs for continued blood clotting and healthy bones, among many other benefits.
b) They are ideal for boosting weight loss
Although fresh jalapenos are hot and may slightly burn as you eat foods spiced with them, they are a good addition if you mean to quicken your quest for weight loss. First, these peppers promote fullness because of their fiber content, eliminating the need to snack every time and overindulge. Second, jalapenos have a compound called capsaicin, an alkaloid that effectively fastens metabolism by up to 25%. Besides, studies show that capsaicinoid supplements also reduce appetite and promote fat burning by 5%-10%, although the concentration of capsaicin in the studies was much higher than what you would normally reap from one pepper. Last but not least, these very compounds may help lower cholesterols whose accumulation fastens weight gain.
c) Jalapenos may help lower cholesterols
Some studies have claimed jalapenos could help a person scale down his blood cholesterol levels, although further research is needed for this. These vegetables could do this through several mechanisms. First, having fibers means that these peppers naturally reduce the amount of cholesterol the body can absorb per meal. Secondly, since jalapenos lower appetite, they indirectly help you scale down fat intake, ultimately lowering the blood cholesterol levels. Interestingly, jalapenos help lower total and bad (LDL) cholesterols.
d) They may help reduce the risk of diabetes type 2
Some observational studies have linked jalapenos to reduced risk of diabetes type 2, but medical research does not support this. The proponents of this idea claim that the fiber content of peppers helps slow down carb digestion and sugar absorption into the bloodstream. Secondly, it could be that the fiber herein also prevents sugar spikes by slowing down sugar absorption. As if that’s not enough, other studies claim that capsaicin compounds have something to do with blood sugar levels, although this is yet to be proven.
e) Jalapenos are good for heart health
Studies support the fact that spicing your foods with jalapenos could help promote health, and there are several explanations for this. First, capsaicin alkaloids may help expand blood vessels, helping them vasodilate and vasoconstrict as directed by the heart. Secondly, lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels helps reduce the risk of getting heart disease since the higher the figures of these two parameters, the greater the chances of having an ailing heart. Third, some studies show that capsaicin compounds increase the availability of nitrates for the heart, further helping the arteries relax and boost heart health.
f) Jalapenos may help fight infections
Some studies have shown that since jalapenos have capsaicin compounds, they can help the body fight infections since they have powerful antioxidant and pathogen-fighting properties. For instance, one small-scale lab test found that adding chili powder to food ingested with Vibrio cholerae bacteria helped prevent the growth of these bacteria. Besides, the same was observed when chili powder was added to food with infectious yeast. As such, taking jalapenos may help lower one’s chances of suffering from foodborne infections. Still, there is a need for further studies since the stated instances of research generalized the study for chilis and did not narrow it down to jalapenos.
g) Jalapenos may help lower the risk of suffering from stomach ulcers
Studies show that jalapenos have a high potential of preventing or lowering the risk of suffering from stomach ulcers. Stress, overindulging in alcohol, smoking, infections by yeast, and H. pylori infestations are among the major causes of stomach ulcers. Interestingly, studies show that hot chili peppers can scale down the risk related to each of these factors and stomach ulcers. Taking NSAID drugs for a long time could also lead to the formation of stomach ulcers, and research has shown that taking jalapenos may prevent NSAID-related stomach ulcers from developing.
h) Taking jalapenos may help relieve pain
Jalapenos have been used to relieve several forms of pain, and studies show that they have been effective for this course. The basic explanation for this is that the capsaicin compound found in the peppers helps the body block the spread of pain receptors in the area of application. For this reason, capsaicin patches and lotions have been developed for topical application and used to manage rheumatoid arthritis. Besides, capsaicinoid supplements have been found to effectively help reduce diabetic nerve pain and symptoms of the shingles virus. Still, most of these studies featured high concentrations of capsaicin compounds that would not be typically found in a meal.
Conclusion
Jalapenos are small red or green hot spicy chili peppers used in Mexican cuisines and other dishes. They have fibers, manganese mineral, and vitamins B6, A, and K, boosting the body’s nutritional count. Jalapenos have several benefits linked to weight loss, reduced blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol levels, fighting infections, promoting heart health, and preventing the development of or managing stomach ulcers, and most of these are related to a compound called capsaicin found in them.
MS, Lund University, Sweden
Nutrition plays an important role in human life. Eating habits are one of the factors that affect our health. There is often a misconception among people that nutritionists force a very restrictive diet, but that is not true. In fact, I don't ban any products, but I point out dietary mistakes and help change them by giving tips and new recipes that I've tried myself. I advise my patients not to resist change and to be purposeful. Only with willpower and determination can a good result be achieved in any area of life, including changing eating habits. When I don't work, I love to go climbing. On a Friday evening, you are most likely to find me on my couch, cuddling with my dog and watching some Netflix.
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