If you are a lover of spicy food and especially jalapenos, then you are in for a treat! After several pieces of research, it looks like jalapenos are doing a bit more than just spicing up your life as they are also a great boost for your health. So, if you are tired of eating all those bleak superfoods, like kale or seaweed, you can easily choose jalapenos without any regret.
By taking a closer look at the elements that comprise jalapenos, it has been found that they are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium and one spicy pepper contains only 4 calories. They also contain beta-carotene which is essential for good vision and vitamin K and B.
Now that you have all this new info, let’s see which are the other ways jalapenos can help you.
For instance, did you know that they can be an asset in fighting weight issues? The reason for that spicy tingle in jalapenos is called capsaicin and it can even be bought as a supplement. Capsaicin is closely related to the way your body stores fat and burning those unwanted calories since it can help you burn more of it. It is essential in fighting brown fat and will help you lose weight in a delicious way. Researches show that eating food that contains capsaicin will reduce the number of calories with 74 in comparison to a day without capsaicin.
Jalapenos might also be efficient in fighting cancer as they can give a boost to our immune system and stop cancer cells from dividing. This again is all thanks to that little active component called capsaicin.
Capsaicin also works as a pain reliever if applied externally, but please don’t start rubbing jalapenos against sore areas as it won’t work. There are lots of patches or lotions that you can buy and have this great component and can help with pain associated with arthritis, migraines or nerve pain.
A very common myth is that spicy food will cause you a stomach ulcer, but recent developments tend to contradict this. In fact, capsaicin will help you keep your stomach protected, reduce inflammation and kill those nasty H.pylori bacteria linked to stomach ulcer. But of course, if you already have stomach ulcer just make sure you consult your doctor before consuming spicy foods.
Preliminary researches also show that capsaicin can reduce the level of sugar in your blood, so it can help with keeping diabetes under control and reduce the chances of heart disease.
Jalapenos and hot foods, in general, proved to be efficient in fighting infections, but so far there are only a few lab studies on this subject and nothing that we know for sure. In any case, they proved to be helpful in reducing infection caused by tooth decay or strep throat.
This does not mean that you will have to turn your entire diet upside down or start eating spicy food all day even if you don’t like it. You can just start by slowly adding a few thin slices of jalapenos to your main course or some chilly flakes on top of your salad. You will not only spice up your food, but also give a nice immunity boost to your body.
