All chili peppers offer antioxidant nutrients, but I’ve recently learned that the hotter ones give you more capsaicin. The mildest of the peppers include Spanish pimentos and Anaheim and Hungarian cherry peppers; the hottest peppers would be the Scotch bonnet and habanero peppers. In the middle are the very familiar jalapenos. Although you are probably not going to eat a huge serving of chili peppers at one time, just one pepper contains as much antioxidant protection as it does flavor.

Most people associate chili peppers with super-spicy meals, and not necessarily really healthy ones. Maybe you have decided to stay away from peppers because of the heat. Although they are hot, they are always a great addition to a healthy and very healing diet. Chili peppers help lower cholesterol, prevent blood clots, they improve circulation, they can be used as decongestants. I was told by my doctor that they may help prevent heart disease, reduce cancer risk, and help prevent ulcers. He also told me that one chili contains 100 percent of the RDA for beta-carotene and almost 200 percent of the RDA for vitamin C.