Why Plant a Chili Pepper?

I've always love spicy foods and added 1 or 2 chili peppers on my dishes. It's just amazing that besides adding flavors to the dishes, it is also considered as one of the healthiest food.


In my quest of living a healthy life I've stumble upon a study on the health benefits of Hot Peppers.

Health benefits of chili peppers

• Chili pepper contains an impressive list of plant derived chemical compounds that are known to have disease preventing and health promoting properties.
• Chilies contain health benefiting an alkaloid compound in them, capsaicin, which gives them strong spicy pungent character. Early laboratory studies on experimental mammals suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-diabetic properties. It also found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.
• Fresh chili peppers, red and green, are rich source of vitamin-C. 100 g fresh chilies provide about 143.7 µg or about 240% of RDA. Vitamin C is a potent water-soluble antioxidant. It is required for the collagen synthesis inside the human body. Collagen is one of the main structural protein required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps protect from scurvy, develop resistance against infectious agents (boosts immunity), and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
• They are also good in other antioxidants such as vitamin-A, and flavonoids like ß-carotene, a-carotene, lutein, zea-xanthin, and cryptoxanthin. These antioxidant substances in capsicum help protect the body from injurious effects of free radicals generated during stress, diseases conditions.
• Chilies carry a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
• Chilies are also good in B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that human body requires them from external sources to replenish.

Just 100 g provides (in % of recommended daily allowance):

240% of vitamin-C (Ascorbic acid), 
39% of vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine), 
32% of vitamin A, 
13% of iron,
14% of copper, 
7% of potassium,
but no cholesterol. 

Special credit to 'Nutrition and You'

Normally, you can harvest from a chili pepper after 75 to 90 days after planting. You can harvest from it for over a year.  In a period of 3-4 months, you'll be able to get at least 10-20 pcs. a day ripe chili's enough to provide for 3-4 families. Overtime, you will have too much leaving you no choice but find a way to store them. 

The most practical way of storing them are putting them into a big jar of vinegar.

 

 And sun drying them, turning it to chili flakes or powder with the use of food processor or grinder. If there is still moist, you can place it in an oven toaster to make sure that no moist is left.

You may roast them in olive oils with lots of garlic. This way you can either use them for your condiments or for cooking purposes. 

Due to its nutrition contents, I also put some chili on my smoothies. 
 
Planting your own chili pepper is not only economical but it will also save you time. Imagine getting your herbs and spices right from your own backyard, not only do you get them fresh but it's free.