More About Bell Peppers

hungarian bell peppers // locally grown at underwood farms

Bell peppers are not only delicious but also super, super healthy and healing.

When you get sick, you are taught to consume vitamin C, usually in the form of a citrus fruit. Did you know that peppers have an abundance of vitamin C – way more than citrus, in fact? Green peppers contain double the vitamin C by weight as citrus 🍊. And red and orange peppers 🌶  contain FOUR times as much! That makes them the #1 vegetable source of vitamin C (papaya is #1 overall). Red bell peppers also contain 11x more beta carotene than green bell peppers. Wowsers!

But wait…there’s more! Peppers are also high in phytonutrients carotenoids and flavonoids such as quercetin (a natural antihistamine) and kaempferol that protect the body from free radical damage.

This begs the question: Why are green peppers relatively lower in vitamin C and beta carotene than their more colorful companions? It turns out that they are the same pepper! A green pepper is merely a less ripe version.

How are you enjoying your peppers this summer? I like mine simple… straight out of the fridge and sliced.