Hot peppers for a healthy heart and lungs

Capsaicin is a powerful antioxidant that helps with cell regeneration, boosts immunity, and reduces the risk of some types of tumors. In addition to capsaicin, hot peppers also contain vitamin C and carotenoids that protect blood vessel cells from damage and are also beneficial for the lungs.

The rule that you should eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day still applies. But there are two types of vegetables that are attributed to a protective role in preserving lung and heart health, that is, in preventing the development of diseases that are most often deadly, which are cardiovascular disease, stroke and lung cancer.

Dietitian Juliet Kelo and physician Sarah Brewer advise introducing chili and other types of hot peppers into the diet, which come in a variety of colors and shapes.

“Peppers enhance the effects of carotenoids and vitamin C, while chili is associated with weight loss and heart health,” says Kelo.

Studies have shown that capsaicin – the substance that gives peppers their heat, is very good for the heart. One of the ways it works is by blocking genes that cause blood vessels to narrow and ensure good blood circulation through the heart. Capsaicin is a powerful antioxidant that helps regenerate cells, boosts immunity, and reduces the risk of some types of tumors.

In addition to capsaicin, peppers and chili peppers are rich in vitamin C and carotenoids, which are also powerful antioxidants that protect blood vessel cells from damage and are also beneficial for the lungs.

They also help with asthma and COPD, otherwise very serious diseases that are typical for smokers. Vitamin C from peppers and carotenoids are also associated with a reduced risk of developing lung cancer.

A 2017 study showed that people who consume high amounts of vitamin C in their bodies have a lower risk of developing lung cancer. Carotenoids from peppers reduce that risk by 34 percent.

The research showed that carotenoids work on men who smoke, and vitamin C on women who smoke, meaning that men benefit more from carotenoids, and women from vitamin C.