If you love to eat spicy foods, you no doubt put green chillies in practically all the spicy dishes that you cook, right?
Do you know that there are also people who consume one or two green chilies raw while having meals?
But is it good to ingest green chillies? Green chillies can be highly useful for your health. so let us explore the benefits of this modest yet potent punch of spice can give you.
Table of Contents
What Are Green Chillies?
Green chilies are slightly hollow, with the pith and seeds being the most burning. Green chillies have a distinct flavor to other colored chilies. Chili heat is measured in Scoville units and is determined by capsaicin concentration.
Green chillies are unripe or immature fruit of the Capsicum genus, which contains capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin.
It is believed that green chili’s spiciness comes from its capsaicin content. Capsaicin is the chili component that causes discomfort to your skin and eyes, but it also has medicinal uses, including as an analgesic.
Green chillies contain negligible amounts of vitamins and minerals that cannot be considered a good source of nutrients.
Benefits Of Green Chillies
If you liked green chillies only because you enjoy spicy cuisine, you will grow to appreciate them more as they have health benefits and can help boost your overall fitness. Scroll down to learn about the 10 advantages of green chillies.
Skin Infections May Be Treated With Green Chillies
Your grandmother may have asked you to rub a slice of green chili on your skin infection, but you must have thought that it was done only to reduce the itchiness from the infection.
However, there are many natural remedies that can be used with green chillies for treating skin infections, including white patches and ulcers caused by staphylococcus bacteria.
The antibacterial properties of green chillies can be used to treat skin infections like ringworm, yeast infection (candidiasis), impetigo, and athlete’s foot.
Green Chillies Can Help You Lose Weight
Chilies are known to increase your metabolism rate that help burn more calories. This will help you lose weight. You can check out our article on 14 fat-burning foods that will help you cut the flab.
Green chillies can be a part of a low-carb diet as they have no carbohydrates. If you are on a low sodium diet, then green chillies will come to your rescue as it is very low in salt.
You can also read: Does Athletic Greens Help You Lose Weight?
Improves Heart Health
Made with garlic and containing capsaicin, green chili paste has potential benefits for the heart. Capsaicin has multiple cardiovascular benefits, such as lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood and preventing atherosclerosis (a disease of the arteries) by improving its elasticity.
Good for the Digestive Health
Green chillies contain a good amount of dietary fiber, which is important for the digestive system. Dietary fiber binds to bile acids that you have consumed and carries them out of the body with stools. The process prevents cholesterol from being reabsorbed into your blood circulation. Green chillies can be used as a spice in your food or as an ingredient in recipes. They can be a part of your regular diet if you suffer from a digestive issue or you are not overweight.
Lowers The Risk Of Diabetes And Cancer
Capsaicin in green chillies can lower your insulin levels and help you maintain healthy body weight. This is because capsaicin has a low Glycaemic Index (GI), so it does not cause spikes in blood sugar levels after eating it. High glucose levels, which would otherwise have been metabolized by the cells with insulin, remain in your bloodstream.
Regular consumption of green chillies can help lower the risk of cancer as capsaicin has been shown to kill human prostate cancer cells and colon cancer cells. Green chili’s anti-cancer properties have also been linked with its high levels of antioxidants that reduce free radical damage.
Protects Against Free Radicals
Free radicals are unstable molecules that have unpaired electrons due to oxidative stress in the body. These free radicals can damage other cells in your body and increase the risk of diseases. Antioxidants can neutralize free radicals and prevent cellular damage caused by unstable molecules. Green chillies are rich in antioxidants that can help fight cell-damaging free radicals, protecting you from various degenerative conditions like heart disease and cancer.
Reduce your body temperature
Green chili has thermogenic properties that can give you some relief from the heat and cool your body down. This is why green chillies are eaten in some parts of the world with hot and spicy food to beat the heat, while some other places use them in their cuisine during the winter season.
Reduce stress and anxiety
Capsaicin can also help you get rid of stress and anxiety because it stimulates the release of endorphins. These are brain chemicals that make us feel good by reducing our sensitivity to pain. Green chillies are known to be a natural antidepressant that helps with both depression and anxiety disorders. Green chili can also lower your blood pressure and prevent heart attacks due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
Protects Against Cataracts
Green chili can also help protect you from cataracts, which are caused by free radical damage to the eye lens. Green chillies are rich in beta-carotene that is linked with a decreased risk of cataracts. Beta-carotene is converted into Vitamin A in the human body and plays an essential role in maintaining vision. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to night blindness, which is similar to cataracts.
Supplies you with antioxidants
Green chillies are also rich in Vitamin C that has antioxidant properties and strong anti-inflammatory abilities. The vitamin helps boost the immune system by increasing the production of white blood cells. Green chillies can also help strengthen your capillaries and relieve you from joint and muscle pain. They are a good source of Vitamin B6, which is required for the production of antibodies that fight infections.
Capsaicin in green chili has been shown to prevent obesity by speeding up metabolism and stimulating heat production in the body. This means your body generates extra heat by burning more calories, which can make you feel a lot hotter. This is the reason why green chillies are sometimes used as a home remedy for losing weight.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a healthy diet that can keep your body in top-notch shape, then green chillies should be an integral part of it. Green chillies are extremely versatile and can be used in various dishes without making them too spicy or salty. The food industry also uses green chillies in hot sauces and pepper sprays because of their high capsaicin content.
As you can see from the article, green chilies have health benefits on top of being tasty! If you love green chillies, feel free to share this article with your friends and family.
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