Bell Pepper
Photography and styling by Grain(e)s & co.
Bell peppers - also known as Capsicum or Sweet peppers - are colourful, versatile, and add a delightful sweetness to your dishes. Since bell peppers are in season from June through to September, let’s take a look at what they have to offer…
Part of your 5-a-day - a fruit or a vegetable!
Although we consume bell peppers as vegetables, they are in fact botanically classified as a fruit.
In terms of your 5-a-day however, bell peppers are considered vegetables, with only half of a bell pepper counting as a portion of your 5-a-day!
Vitamin C - immunity, skin health & plant-based iron absorption
Bell Peppers are especially rich in vitamin C, only half a bell pepper provides all of our daily requirements of vitamin C. Getting vitamin C daily from our diet is important as it is an antioxidant that cannot be stored in the body.
Vitamin C is key to supporting our immune system - helping fight against infection - and maintaining healthy skin, teeth & bones. It is needed to make and maintain collagen and protects cells from oxidative damage - which can accelerate ageing.
Vitamin C is an important part of a plant-based diet, as it helps increase the absorption of plant-based iron. Adding bell peppers alongside a source of plant-based iron (e.g. pulses, nuts & dark leafy greens) will help increase iron absorption.
Vitamin A - eyes, immunity & development
Bell peppers are a good source of pro-vitamin A carotenoids - pigments responsible for red, yellow and orange colours in plants - which carries out the same job as vitamin A in the body as we absorb and convert them to vitamin A.
Vitamin A is key in supporting our vision particularly to adjust to dim lighting, helping our body’s defences against illness and infection - immunity -, and keeping our skin healthy. Vitamin A also plays a role in cell growth and development, making it important for reproduction.
Vitamin B6 - energy & red blood cells
Bell peppers provide vitamin B6 - pyridoxine - a water-soluble compound from the B-vitamins family.
Vitamin B6 is involved in many processed in our bodies including converting and storing energy from food, forming red blood cells - which carry oxygen around the body -, and supporting immune functions and brain health.
Dietary Fibre - gut health
Bell peppers are a source of dietary fibre which feeds the friendly and beneficial bacteria residing in our digestive system which promotes gut health.
Dietary fibre also helps maintain regular bowel movements - preventing constipation -, and can reduce the risk of certain diseases - heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
Find out more on my previous blog: Dietary Fibre.
The take-home:
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References
NHS. Rough guide - Fruit & vegetable portion sizes. Livewell. 2021 https://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/documents/downloads/5aday_portion_guide.pdf
European Food and Information Council (EUFIC). Is a Pepper a Fruit or a Vegetable and Why? 4 March 2020. https://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-living/article/is-a-pepper-a-fruit-or-a-vegetable-and-why
European Food Safety Authority. 2013. Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for vitamin C. EFSA Journal 2013;11(11):3418 https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3418
McCance & Widdowson. The Composition of Foods integrated dataset 2021. 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/composition-of-foods-integrated-dataset-cofid
NHS. Health A to Z - Vitamins and Minerals - Vitamin C. NHS Sources, 03 Aug. 2020, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-c/
NHS, Health A to Z - Vitamins and Minerals - Vitamin A. NHS Sources, 03 Aug. 2020, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-a/
NHS, Health A to Z - Vitamins and Minerals - B vitamins and folic acid. NHS Sources, 03 Aug. 2020, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b/
Barber TM, Kabisch S, Pfeiffer AFH, Weickert MO. The Health Benefits of Dietary Fibre. Nutrients. 2020;12(10):3209. Published 2020 Oct 21. doi:10.3390/nu12103209
