Pepper is one of the main vegetables of the Mediterranean diet and together with the tomato belong to the family Solanaceae. It has a characteristic green color but you can also find many varieties with red or yellow color, and the same wonderful aroma.
Pepper is grown mainly in the spring and is very beneficial for our body by providing many useful vitamins, and nutrients and antioxidants.
The best time to sow is February. At the same time, because it is a plant that is sensitive to low temperatures and winds, the pepper crop is planted in mid-April.
As a soil, the cultivation of pepper needs rich soil, fertile, with good drainage. The pepper cultivation is installed with distances between the lines 80-100 cm while the plants on the lines are 50 cm apart. Pepper should also be noted that it is a plant with special requirements in water especially during the summer months and the flowering period.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF PEPPER
Colored peppers, whether green, red, orange or yellow, are a rich source of nutrients.
They are extremely rich in vitamin C and Vitamin A, two very important antioxidants (This means that they can help neutralize free radicals in the body, which cause cell damage), and also contain a high concentration of carotenoids. Thus they can help prevent or reduce the symptoms of certain diseases.
The actual nutrient content of pepper is impressive and comes as a bit of a surprise, given the low content of this vegetable in
fats (some nutrients are soluble in fats and for their presence it is a necessary condition to contain some fats in the food). There is less than one gram of fat in a cup of chopped peppers and it is sufficient to be a reliable source of fat-soluble nutrients for peppers, including carotenoids and vitamin E.
ANTIOXIDANT BENEFITS FROM THE CONSUMPTION OF PEPPER
Although scientific research tends to focus on carotenoids as the most important antioxidant in peppers, in reality this vegetable provides a wide range of antioxidants. In terms of conventional nutrients, peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C, they contain 117 milligrams per cup (this is twice the amount of vitamin C found in an orange). Peppers are also a good source of another antioxidant, vitamin E. In addition, they are a good source of manganese.
In short, peppers contain:
- Flavinoids:
- Quercetin
- Hesperidine
- Carotenoids:
- A-carotene
- B-carotene
- Cryptoxanthine
- Lutein
- Zeaxanthin
- Hydroxycinnamic Acid:
- Ferulic Acid
- Cinnamic Acid
Among the five carotenoids mentioned above, peppers have a high content of B-carotene and zeaxanthin. In addition, pepper can meet 12% of total zeaxanthin and 7% of vitamin C needs.
