The goodness of Capsicum - Fiery Facts

Seeking heat in a fast approaching winter season is nothing new. Not only rearranging your wardrobe and being reacquainted with your favourite jacket and boots, but also regarding the culinary side of your life. When I think about cooking in winter time, I think about warm, hot, wholesome, steaming dishes. Spiced and inviting to the palate, welcoming the generous heat to warm you from the inside out. And what better way to generate a bit of heat, than to introduce chillies to your diet.

These little gems bring a colourful array to your refrigerator and come in different shapes, sizes and intensity. Botanically speaking – chillies are the fruits of Capsicum and are classified as berries. The Capsicum family consist of a wide variety, including Indian Chillies, Chilli Padi, Scotch Bonnet, Jalapeños, Cherry Peppers, Cyan peppers etc., and is categorised into three groups: Bell Peppers (Mild), Sweet Peppers (Strong) and Hot Peppers (HOT!).

Apart from being great in taste, capsicum also has great nutritional value and accords numerous health benefits to people. Capsicum contains Carotenoids, Proteins, Fats, Vitamin A and C, Capsaicinoid Oleoresin and Pro-vitamins E, P, B1, B2 and B3. Due to the intense burning sensation caused by capsaicin, one cannot consume great quantities in order to achieve RDA recommendations.

The research of Capsicum in health and medical fields is phenomenal. Health benefits include: cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure, antioxidant properties by neutralizing free radicals, anti-inflammatory properties, reduces infection, reduces cholesterol, speeding up metabolism, great for treating colds and fevers, lowers triglycerides, triggers the release of endorphins (feel good hormone), pain relief and is safe for diabetics. Recent studies also indicate that capsicum is being used to fight cancer, due to the ability to cause differentiation in cancer cells, returning them to normalcy.

Capsicum plays a major role in weight loss, since the discovery that it increases diet-induced thermo-genesis (heating the body naturally), thereby increasing the metabolism by burning fat faster than normal rate. It naturally suppresses your appetite, so you won’t feel hungry most of the time, and you don’t snack as often. Resent research reveals that capsicum may inhibit the growth of fat cells by activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is found in muscle and other human tissue that regulates eating behaviour and energy expenditure. As well as the stimulation of skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation. In other words, the fat is used up as energy, rather than storing.

So, with all the explosive goodness of capsicum in the nutrition and health industry, I need not explain why we added capsicum to supplements. You are guaranteed of a phenomenon that will change the way you look at your weight. It’s time to HEAT up your BODY! Get that hot Body!